Shi Biao and Ding Jin acted unexpectedly and quickly cut off the connection between the rebel army and the Danzhi army according to Duan Xu's arrangement. At the same time, with the help of Ziwei, the news that Tang Dequan defected to the Danzhi spread widely, and 70% of Tang Dequan's subordinates defected to Duan Xu's army. Before Tang Dequan had time to betray them, he became a lonely man and hurriedly ran to the Danzhi territory to seek shelter.
Now two-thirds of Jingzhou fell into Duanxu's hands. He used the Guihe Army and Meng Wan's Suying Army as the vanguard to continue attacking the remaining cities in Jingzhou. Shi Biao used to be the king of the mountains. He was most skilled in ambushes and attacks in the mountains. His tactics were very rogue. He was best at defeating the enemy with fewer troops and making a feint to the east and attacking in the west. He shined on the battlefield. The cavalry that Danzhi was most proud of was the heavy cavalry with complete protective gear. It was difficult to display it in the mountains, so Shi Biao made it run around.
The Su Ying Army led by Meng Wan was much more calm. Shi Biao was good at attacking cities but not good at defending. A city could change hands many times in his hands. So they cooperated with each other, with Shi Biao making the breakthrough and the Su Ying Army firmly occupying the city. In half a month, they took over Jingzhou bit by bit.
During this period, Duan Xu wrote a letter to Zhao Xing, the leader of the rebel army in Qizhou. Zhao Xing had been in control of Qizhou for some time, and envoys from Daliang had come to negotiate in waves. Seeing that General Qian of Weizhou had returned to Daliang, Zhao Xing was still vague.
To be honest, Daliang gave Qian Chengyi a very generous reward, and Zhao Xing would definitely not get less. He knew this, but he still had an ambiguous attitude and stood by and watched the uprising in Jingzhou. I'm afraid he wanted to take advantage of the situation to become a local overlord.
Duan Xu's letter was very polite, but the content was very real. Tang Dequan, who defected to Danzhi, was beheaded by Han righteous men and his body was left on the street. If Zhao Xing defected to Danzhi, he would probably end up like this. Duan Xu wanted to attack Youzhou, so he needed Qizhou and Jingzhou to break through. If Zhao Xing refused to surrender, he would have to attack Qizhou the same way he conquered Jingzhou. At that time, Zhao Xing would not be a meritorious official, but a traitor.
Not long after the letter arrived, Zhao Xing sent an envoy to say that he was willing to accept Daliang's reward and hand over Qizhou.
"Zhao Xing is a cunning man. He agreed to surrender but there may be twists and turns. Let's wait and see. We will attack Youzhou later, and Qizhou is the rear of the army, so it must be stable. Xia Qingsheng is a cautious and serious person. Let him go to Qizhou to meet Zhao Xing first and reorganize his troops. I will go later." Duan Xu put down Zhao Xing's letter and instructed Chen Ying.
Shen Ying nodded.
"Does Ziwei have anyone available in Qizhou?"
"Sister Luo said that Zhang Qian, the military officer beside Zhao Xing, is from Ziwei. She has observed him carefully before and believes he is trustworthy."
"Okay. Let Xia Qingsheng contact Zhang Qian after he arrives in Qizhou. If Xia Qingsheng also thinks Zhang Qian can be used, he can hand over Zhao Xing's elite troops to Zhang Qian. Before Zhao Xing goes to Nandu to be conferred a title, Ziwei must keep a close eye on him."
Chen Ying said: "Yes?"
Duan Xu breathed a sigh of relief and suddenly changed the subject: "How is your brother Han now?"
This was the first time Duan Xu mentioned Han Lingqiu in more than half a month. As soon as he came back, he threw Han Lingqiu into prison and didn't ask much about him. He made up an excuse to the outside world that Han Lingqiu offended the commander and was punished.
Chen Ying had received a lot of care from Han Lingqiu in the past four months, but now that Han Lingqiu was back, he was completely different, gloomy and silent. The atmosphere between Han Lingqiu and Duan Xu was also very strange, and he had been suspicious for a long time. When he heard Duan Xu mention Han Lingqiu, he couldn't help but shudder, thinking that the third brother finally brought it up, and said impatiently: "Still the same as before... He doesn't talk all day, and he doesn't respond to me when I chat with him. Third brother, what's wrong with Brother Han?"
Duan Xu sighed and said with a smile: "You call him Big Brother and me Third Brother. Are you calling me younger than me for no reason?"
He stood up from his chair, stretched himself, and said, "Come on, let's go see him. Since he can't figure it out himself, I'll help him figure it out."
Chen Ying followed Duan Xu all the way to the prison in confusion. Duan Xu walked to the railing with his hands behind his back, turned around and looked at the man in the corner with disheveled hair and a gloomy expression. Half a month later, Han Lingqiu's physical injuries had almost healed, but his heart was obviously still not healed. He was completely different from the serious, sincere and simple Han Lingqiu before, as if someone else's soul was stuffed into this body.
But his experience was similar.
God knows that the young man who fought for Cangshen could not accept Han Lingqiu, the general of Daliang.
Han Lingqiu, who was committed to defending his country, could not accept that Tian Zhizhi had blood on his hands and killed innocent teenagers.
He had two completely opposite and mutually hostile pasts. Now, the education he received in Tianzhi and the beliefs he once believed in have returned to his mind. He once swore that no matter what happened in the past, he was just Han Lingqiu of Daliang, but now it seems that this is just a beautiful and wishful fantasy.
Duan Xu unlocked the door. The sound of the door unlocking echoed in the empty cell. As he unlocked the door, he called out, "Han Lingqiu."
Han Lingqiu's eyes suddenly turned to him, with vigilance and hatred in them. He said coldly, "Don't call me by that name."
"Why, I didn't give you this name, and now you blame me?" Duan Xu walked in front of Han Lingqiu, leaned down to look at Han Lingqiu, and said with a smile: "You must remember that you also pinched my neck. In that situation, if you hit me, I can regard it as betrayal."
Han Lingqiu's eyes twitched, and then he sneered and said, "Betrayal? Isn't this your specialty?"
Duan Xu stood up, stroking the key in his hand and looking down at Han Lingqiu for a moment, then said: "You speak to your commander in this tone, it seems that you don't want to be Han Lingqiu at all. Have you decided to return to Danzhi?"
Han Lingqiu gritted his teeth and said nothing.
"Lingqiu, do you want to have another dark test with me?" Duan Xu said this. Not surprisingly, he saw Han Lingqiu's surprised look. He added: "The dark test is a life-and-death battle. If you win, you can kill me."
In the afternoon on the Yunzhou grassland, the shallow lake reflected the bright and warm sunshine, and the green grass grew so high that it could cover people's ankles. There was no wind at this time, and everything was fine.
Duan Xu and Han Lingqiu stood facing each other in the sunshine beside the lake. Both of them were dressed in black. Duan Xu wore a black and silver headband, just like when he was walking in the ghost world. He did not look like a military commander at all, but just a carefree young man.
Han Lingqiu looked at Duan Xu from afar, as if he saw the outstanding opponent in "Heaven Knows" through the nineteen years. Duan Xu was taller and more angular than he was then, but other than that, he was not much different from the one in "Heaven Knows". Duan Xu was like this in "Heaven Knows", smiling all day long, as if he had no worries.
Han Lingqiu wondered vaguely if he had ever envied Duan Xu. It seemed that he had, perhaps because of Duan Xu's talent, his master's preference, or because of Duan Xu's happiness, he could no longer remember clearly. At that time, they had no names, no friends, and Duan Xu was just a symbol to him.
During that long period of time, everything was like a symbol, what was right, what was wrong, what was valuable, and what was worthless were neatly marked one by one. Simple, precise, unified, and deep-rooted.
He was very confused at this time. In the past half month, he often felt that he was going crazy. Whether he was Han Lingqiu or Tian Zhixiao's disciple, it was like a betrayal to him. He couldn't find himself and he didn't know where he belonged.
The instigator of all this, Duan Xu, stood in front of him calmly. He couldn't understand this man. He was like this in the past and he is still like this now.
Duan Xu, who was far away, smiled slightly in the sunshine. He held up the black cloth to cover his eyes, and then said to him, "General Han, you must concentrate."
Han Lingqiu covered his eyes with a black cloth, thinking that Duan Xu wanted to compete with him in a dark test known only to God, while at the same time he kept calling him General Han. This was too contradictory. Perhaps losing to Duan Xu again and being killed by Duan Xu would be his best outcome.
In the dark world after the blindfold, all other senses became sharp. Han Lingqiu heard Chen Ying shouting "start", and then there came the sound of light and fast footsteps in front of him. The moment he hesitated, the sword wind came, and he immediately dodged. At that moment, he realized that Duan Xu was serious.
He was brought into Duan Xu's rhythm. Duan Xu's speed was too fast, so he could only retreat and defend step by step. In all these years, few people could force him to this point. In the sound of swords clashing, the memories buried deep in his bones gradually revived. He seemed to have returned to the days when he fought with Duan Xu. Those memories of constantly forcing himself to break through the limits and indulging in fighting all day long came alive in the dark world.
During those seven years, it seemed like he was killing people every day.
He felt happy. In his eyes, people were not people, but some kind of livestock. He enjoyed the sound of swords piercing flesh, he enjoyed begging and crying, he enjoyed the blood flying and the pieces being torn to pieces. He was proud of this and enjoyed it.
This is the meaning of his existence in this world.
For him as a young boy, killing is the most beautiful thing in the world.
But? These vivid memories made Han Lingqiu feel terrified.
Not only was he terrified, he also felt sick. He wanted to chop off his own hands and feet, chop off those dirty hands and feet covered in blood. He wanted to run back and pin the man who couldn't help but enjoy killing to the ground. He wanted to seal his mouth and smash his head.
He wanted to ask for help.
Who will save this man, who will save him.
If someone could stop him before he killed the first person, even if they really cut off his hand, he would be grateful.
He desperately wanted to catch someone to save the evil spirit that was himself, but it was too late.
Not only that, there was a voice in his head mocking him, telling him that the world should be like this, weren't you very happy at that time? What are you desperate about now? As long as you choose to go back to the past, you can go on smoothly.
You are a warrior of the glory of the Cang God, and the people you kill are just necessary sacrifices. Let go of the hand that is strangling your throat, stop struggling, and go back to the past.
"Why don't you kill me?"
The sudden voice pierced Han Lingqiu's dark world. He was stunned and realized that just now in his extreme despair and madness, he had attacked Duan Xu almost instinctively without caring about his life.
Then he seemed to win? How did he win
Han Lingqiu pulled the black cloth off his eyes. Duan Xu sat on the ground, holding his abdomen, blood flowing from his fingers, and Han Lingqiu's sword was pointing at Duan Xu's throat. Duan Xu spat out a mouthful of blood, wiped his mouth and said calmly: "Not only have you not wasted your time, but you have made great progress. Lingqiu, why don't you kill me?"
In the darkness, Han Lingqiu lost his concept of time. It seemed as if only a moment had passed, but at this moment the sun had already set and the sky and the earth were a dazzling red. The lake beside them reflected the red sunset and the setting sun, as if it were a pool of boiling magma.
Duan Xu raised his head and looked at Han Lingqiu calmly, and Han Lingqiu saw a little compassion in his eyes.
He suddenly remembered that nine years ago, on the stage at sunset, before he started his test with Duan Xu, Duan Xu looked at him with the same look.
He vaguely remembered that in the blurry chaos afterwards, someone had been carrying him on his back, staggering along for a long distance. That person said to him: Go south, go to Daliang, and don't come back.
Han Lingqiu seemed unable to bear it any longer. He growled, threw away his sword, and grabbed Duan Xu's collar. With bloodshot eyes, he questioned him with gnashing teeth, "Why... why did you save me? Don't tell me it was some kind of compassion. We even killed three-year-old children! There is no friendship between you and me, why didn't you kill me?"
Duan Xu looked at him without dodging, then smiled. As he smiled, blood flowed from the corner of his mouth, dripping onto Han Lingqiu's hand that was holding his collar.
"The only person who survives will be Seventeen. I don't want to be Seventeen, so I can't let you die. I'm not trying to save you, I'm trying to save myself."
Han Lingqiu was stunned.
"Of course, like you said, we three-year-olds have all been killed. I finally saved you. What can I change? Nothing can be changed. This is just a childish thought, a reason to comfort myself. But Ling Qiu, I am supported by these childish thoughts."
"You said I was good at betrayal, but in my opinion I have never betrayed anyone. I have already struggled with what you are struggling and thinking about now, and since then I have only been loyal to myself. But you are different from me. Because of my own selfishness, I disregarded your wishes and made this choice for you without authorization."
Duan Xu held Han Lingqiu's hand that was holding up his collar and smiled calmly, "Lingqiu, I apologize for my arrogance and the scar on your face. I'm sorry."
Han Lingqiu gradually relaxed his strength. He lowered his eyes and remained silent for a moment. He pulled the corner of his mouth as if he felt it was ridiculous and said, "You saved me and you still want to apologize to me. I'm not so ungrateful."
He raised his eyes and looked at Duan Xu, the red sunset reflected in his eyes, the mad dust settled into a heavier scar, he said: "General Duan."