In December, Wu Qiao, as the commander-in-chief of a large region, took back an entire star field.
The previous imperial army failed to hold this place, so Wu Qiao rushed to reinforce it, and finally defeated the Republic with difficulty.
The situation of losing and taking and losing is still going on, and the overall situation has improved several times and then deteriorated several times.
This moment is not the most dangerous moment.
The army needed to rest, so Wu Qiao chose the largest star in the recaptured star field for rectification.
Wu Qiao sat for a while, and suddenly remembered that he hadn't walked on the ground for a long time. In the past few months, he has been fighting in the vast universe, and he has almost forgotten the feeling of gravity.
A newly recaptured star... Wu Qiao thought: the people here should be very happy that their hometown has not fallen, and they are probably celebrating each other, right
He has always been a person who likes to listen to people's compliments. Thinking of this, he can't help but feel a little itchy. He wants to go out for a stroll and see how the citizens share their joy with each other.
This time, Wu Qiao did not wear a military uniform, and this was the first time he wore civilian clothes during a war.
As far as the eye can see, there is devastation everywhere.
It experienced one war when it was occupied, and another war when it was retaken.
The aura of the past has completely disappeared, and it seems that this city can no longer be called a city. The glory of the past can only exist in dreams, and it is a picturesque place for people to pursue its traces at night, and then remind the dreamer of his crazy nostalgia for the past when he wakes up in the daytime.
Wu Qiao did not see the scene of people celebrating.
In the desolation, only a few thin shadows are floating.
"Handsome guy!" A very sexy girl came to pull Wu Qiao.
Wu Qiao was startled, and quickly shook her away, thinking that if Tan Yan saw her, he would definitely stare at her.
"Handsome guy," the girl touched Wu Qiao again, "How long have you had a good time? I'm good at serving people, I guarantee you will be very memorable."
"You..." Wu Qiao just wanted to get angry, when she saw her eyes shining with heavy makeup and said, "You don't need money."
"… what?"
"Any pose is fine."
"You don't want money?" Wu Qiao found it inconceivable—what is she planning if she doesn't want money? If not for money, who would do this
"Yes." The young girl seemed to see hope, with a happy light shining in her pupils, "If you don't need money, just give me something to eat."
"..." Wu Qiao froze in place as if struck by lightning, and even forgot to knock her hand off.
"My kids have been hungry for a long time... I have to get some food back."
After a while, Wu Qiao asked her softly, "For food, do you want to do this?" Wu Qiao already knew why the other party came to him, because his clothes were much brighter than others.
"The food has been taken away by the army." The girl said again, "Before the reinforcements arrived, they had been fighting for a long time. The army had no food, so they asked the people for help."
Having said this, Wu Qiao understood.
Because the military business has long been divided, the business community has tried their best to hide money, and the army has long been unable to make ends meet, but the soldiers also have to eat, so there are only those who rob the common people. Every time I go to a region, the people always have to starve first, and then it is the turn of the army.
Wu Qiao touched his pockets, but he didn't find any food, but he brought some money. He gave the money to the girl and asked, "Can this help you get something to eat?"
The girl was taken aback, looked down, then reached out and took it away.
Wu Qiao didn't say not to do this kind of thing again, because he didn't think he was qualified to say so.
A few seconds later, Wu Qiao asked again: "So... where is your husband?" Why did you let your wife look for food
"Dead." The girl said numbly, "All the men were arrested and sent to serve as soldiers, probably a month or so before the reinforcements arrived, and now we are the only ones left here."
"How could it be?!" Wu Qiao's voice rose unconsciously, "What use are ordinary people without training going to the battlefield?"
"I don't know if it will be useful, but I hope it will be useful. The recruiter said, "The army is about to be overwhelmed, and the men must defend their hometown." "
Wu Qiao walked forward again, and saw a large group of people—a group of women.
Wu Qiao walked over and found a row of corpses neatly placed in front of them—they were identifying them. Everyone went to each corpse and prayed, then opened their eyes suddenly, and after seeing that it was not their relatives, they breathed a sigh of relief, and then moved on to the next target.
Occasionally, there will be a burst of bitter cry, heart-piercing.
Next to them was a man in a straight military uniform with picturesque features. He was the second most beautiful person in Wu Qiao's mind.
Ji Yao looked up and saw Wu Qiao, and walked towards him.
"What's going on?" Wu Qiao asked softly.
Ji Yao said: "When we were searching for the remains, we found some outdated mechas with some dead pilots inside. The information entered in the mechas showed that they were all recruits. I asked the general who commanded the battle before, and he said that he temporarily Some locals were recruited."
After every war, someone will search for the remains on the battlefield and bring back the dead.
"But," Wu Qiao asked the question again, "What use are ordinary people without training going to the battlefield?"
"Given the proportion of deaths..." Ji Yao set his eyes on the row of corpses, "It's probably a meat shield."
"..." Wu Qiao felt as if his throat was tightly strangled.
"Teach me some simple mech operations, give me a chance mech, and then let them rush to the front, and others will fight behind, or even blow them away together - it looks like this on the scene."
"How is it possible?!" Wu Qiao said, "How can non-regular soldiers not panic when they arrive on the battlefield? This is completely different from what I imagined! The opponent will definitely flee if they hit a cannon!" Such soldiers will only interfere. People in the back row.
But soon, Wu Qiao himself discovered something strange.
Some of those remains were even shirtless. Wu Qiao seldom saw anyone going into battle shirtless, unless the battle was so fierce that he lost himself, and his blood was boiling so hot that he always felt hot.
"I know that the Military Research Institute has a new drug." Ji Yao was silent for a while, and said, "It can make people bloodthirsty, aggressive, brave and fearless."
"... Are there any side effects?" Ji Yao always knew a lot of things, and Wu Qiao was used to it.
"There must be." Ji Yao is always so calm, "But I don't think it is specially for civilians. The ultimate goal is to use it on soldiers. Soon you and I will fight like this."
At this time Wu Qiao heard another loud cry.
He followed the reputation and saw a woman. There was also a dead body in front of her, and she was touching a very strange dress that her husband was wearing. Not only that body, but many bodies have similar things on them.
"That..." Wu Qiao asked Ji Yao, "What is that dress? Why do so many people wear it?"
Ji Yao shook his head.
Wu Qiao thought, so there was something he didn't know.
"Let me tell you." A ghostly woman next to me replied, "We wove the clothes. There is a saying here that weaving this kind of waistcoat for your husband can protect him from harm. The more pious you are, the better you are." Works."
"..."
"We wove religiously, but they died anyway."
"..." Wu Qiao looked at the ground again.
The patterns on the clothes are very complicated, and it can be seen that a lot of effort has been spent, but the so-called divine power is simply a joke, the color of blood is all over the surface, and the wool has turned into tufts.
Wu Qiao could feel in his heart that the situation of this star was a common phenomenon.
The army is in an embarrassing situation. Without the support of merchants and civilians, the army was short of money and people, but the pressure on the record was extremely high, and in the end they were forced and robbed. According to the regulations, these are not allowed, but now it is very chaotic, and the superiors and subordinates will help to deceive.
Moreover, even if forced looting is prohibited, what is the use? The military can't solve the problem of no money and no one at all.
With a heavy heart, Wu Qiao turned and walked towards the barracks.
There was still crying behind him, but it gradually faded away.
On the way I walked, there were occasional remnants of flower stalks, but there were no flowers on the stalks. When the bomb hit, those flowers were probably still in a lucid dream.
When he was about to reach the barracks, Wu Qiao saw another woman.
Her hair was disheveled, her skin was chapped and peeling, her facial features were also dirty, her face was full of fatigue, her eyes were half-closed, as if it was difficult to even open her eyelids.
With the previous experience, this time Wu Qiao was a full two meters away from her.
She kept looking at Wu Qiao quietly, as if she had nothing else to do.
Wu Qiao wanted to walk away, but felt that it would hurt others, so he smiled at her.
The woman also smiled, still looking at Wu Qiao.
Wu Qiao thought for a while, and still talked to her.
He asked: "Your husband... is not here either?"
"Huh?" The woman was stunned.
Wu Qiao repeated again: "Your husband... isn't here either?"
It was only this time that the other party finally answered, and she said softly, "I don't have a husband."
Then, she said with some sadness: "I am only fifteen years old."
Wu Qiao stood there dumbfounded as if he wanted to be hit by a dull hammer. He couldn't see any trace of fifteen years old on that girl's face.
"Sorry..." Wu Qiao concealed his authenticity, "I misunderstood."
The girl didn't care too much: "I know. But, at a time like this, who cares about things like appearance?"
"But," Wu Qiao took a closer look at the other person's cheeks, and found that she had a round jaw, a high nose bridge, and big eyes. She must have been a beautiful girl before, "Your facial features are very delicate, and it will look good after cleaning up."
The girl tilted her head and thought for a while: "That's true."
Girls at this age, after all, like others to say that they are good-looking. A smile bloomed on her face, she opened the small pendant on the necklace around her neck, and said to Wu Qiao, "Show you my previous photos."
Wu Qiao leaned over and took a look. She had smooth and supple chestnut hair, fair complexion and ruddy lips. She was indeed a beauty.
"My father went to war," she said, "and then my mother fell ill, and I had to do a lot of things. Survival is too difficult now, so I don't care about my appearance."
"..." Wu Qiao looked at her dirty face, squatted down and raised his head, and asked her, "What's your name?"
"Natasha."
"Natasha," Wu Qiao was pushed and pushed by a strong impulse in his heart, and reached out to touch Natasha's long chestnut hair, "I promise you, you will be able to wear beautiful dresses again in a short time. Put on delicate makeup, and put up your long hair that shines in the sun, okay?"
"I don't believe it." Natasha also looked at Wu Qiao, "You are all liars. Dad said he would come back to see me soon, but he never came home."
"I'm not lying to you." Wu Qiao stood up, bent slightly, put his hands on his knees, and made his eyes parallel to Natasha's, "Look at me, remember my face, I will say do it."
"Okay," Natasha hesitated for a while, "I will trust you adults once more."
"Hmm. Do you want to pull the hook?"
"That's child's play."
"Ok."
"However, it doesn't hurt to let you pull it."
Wu Qiao smiled and stretched out his finger. Natasha pulled it lightly, as if she wanted to expect something but dared not.
Wu Qiao did not return to the barracks as planned.
He turned around outside and saw a man who looked like a businessman. He stepped forward to borrow a communication device, and then contacted Helena. Helena had already quit the army due to injury.
"Helena?" Wu Qiao said, "I suddenly want to contact my old classmates, can you tell me all the numbers you know?"
Helena mentioned a few people, but Layla was not among them.
Leila, who joined the rebel army very early, has extremely high skills in manipulating mechs, and is now known as the "witch".
She was the one Wu Qiao really wanted to contact.
"Where's Leila?" Wu Qiao asked.
"have no idea."
"I know you have a way to find her." Wu Qiao sighed, "You can contact her, just say that I am asking, and see if she will give it."
"I really do not know."
"… please."
Then, in the afternoon, someone sent Wu Qiao an address not far away, and told him to go there alone.
Wu Qiao told Ji Yao that he wanted to leave for a while to meet Tan Yan.
As the commander-in-chief of the theater, Wu Qiao would naturally not be stopped by anyone.
When Wu Qiao left, there was a light rain falling from the sky, which seemed to wash away some of the smell of blood.
Inexplicably, in the sad atmosphere, there was a singing voice floating over.
He didn't know who was singing, he just felt that the singing was beautiful and melodious, and it wasn't all despair.
Wu Qiao waited at the designated place for a long time before two men came and led Wu Qiao through a long tunnel. After walking for half an hour, Wu Qiao returned to the ground again.
— Layla was waiting for him at the finish line.
Wu Qiao didn't know whether Leila believed him or not. If you believe it, why do you need to do these things; but if you don't believe it, you simply won't meet. After much deliberation, Wu Qiao felt that Leila and the others still had expectations of themselves, but they were afraid that they were really just "military lackeys".
When seeing Leila again, Wu Qiao was taken aback.
Her wavy curly hair has now become ear-length short hair, which looks crisp and neat, which is very different from the feeling in the military school curriculum.
Layla, she's the only one.
"Should I call you a witch now?" Wu Qiao smiled.
"Let's just say what you're here for," Leila folded her arms, "You and I are both busy."
Wu Qiao shook his head. Layla disapproved of him during the military school classes and always refused to show enthusiasm for him. But these things are not important, Wu Qiao looked at Leila and said, "I want to see the 'Shadow King'."
"Shadow King" refers to the person who formed the rebel army, and is also the leader of the rebel army now, but he is not a soldier, and he doesn't know much about fighting. No one knew his real name. The common people nicknamed him "Shadow Emperor", the shadow emperor, to be compared with the current official emperor. Wu Qiao felt that the other party probably didn't like such a name. How could there be a revolutionary army? I would like to have a nickname called Huang.
"What are you doing seeing him?" Layla asked.
"I'm considering joining."
"..." Leila didn't speak for a long time, as if she was considering whether the words were true or not.
After a while, Leila said to Wu Qiao, "Wait a minute."
"En." Wu Qiao was not in a hurry, but just waited quietly.
When Leila returned, she brought the two men with her.
"Do you mind being searched?" Leila asked.
"Not too happy." A wry smile appeared on the corner of Wu Qiao's mouth, "But I can only accept it."
"… Feel sorry."
"fine."
Just like that, Wu Qiao was taken to another place by Leila's mecha, and met the "Shadow King" as he wished.
The "Shadow King" is very tall, two meters long, with heavy dark circles, eagle-like eyes and a nose.
There was a monkey-like beast on his shoulder, which seemed very fierce, and always showed a look of wanting to scratch Wu Qiao's paw.
He did not show enthusiasm for Wu Qiao.
He talked about his ideals and plans for the future, as well as the current state of the rebels.
"The empire has been poisoned by a millennium of autocracy," he said. "Now that the country is oppressed internally and invaded by foreigners, the people really can't wait any longer."
However, he also said: "I can't promise you anything now. If you want to change the status quo of the empire, you can join us, but I will not promise you the position after joining, let alone promise you victory." The final reward. I can only say that I will try my best not to humiliate everyone's abilities and achievements."
"..."
"If you want me to make a choice based on conditions, I can only say that my personality makes me not want such a companion very much."
They talked for three hours.
After coming out, Wu Qiao said to Leila: "I think...'Shadow King' doesn't like me."
"..." Leila's haughty look relaxed a little, she said, "That's not the case."
"Oh?"
"He doesn't like anyone."
"..."
"Otherwise, he wouldn't be the first to rise up in the empire."
"... That's true."
"You know, he was a priest before."
"… what?"
"In order to change his temperament, he became a priest, but nothing changed, and he still dislikes everyone, including gods."
"This… "
"As far as I know, he really hopes you can join, because he doesn't know how to fight and needs you to come."
"..." In fact, after a long conversation, Wu Qiao didn't dislike "The King of Shadows". Others may think that he is too talkative, talking about the status quo and ideals without talking about benefits, but Wu Qiao happens to be the same kind of person.
After saying goodbye to Leila, Wu Qiao sat in Yajiu Lane for a long time.
"Wu Qiao," Ya Jiu waited very bored, "Shall we listen to music?"
When there was no reply, Ya Jiufu asked again: "How about watching a movie?"
"..."
"Wu Qiao? Wu Qiao meow? Meow meow!"
Crow Nine made a strange sound, but Wu Qiao still ignored it.
"Hey… "
Suddenly, Wu Qiao made a move.
He quickly opened Yajiu's communication.
"Tan Yan..." Wu Qiao asked, "Are you resting too?"
"Ok."
"Where?"
"Mushroom Starfield."
"I'll go find you."
"Ok?"
"I want to see you."
"Now?" Tan Yan asked.
"Now."
"What's wrong?"
"I..." Wu Qiao bit his lip, "I have something to tell you."
Wu Qiao still wanted to tell the other party about this matter face to face. Although, due to the time-consuming and costly expense, the military department has long stopped listening to the internal calls of the army, especially the calls between senior generals that may involve the highest military secrets, but Wu Qiao still wants to say goodbye seriously.
Maybe... this is the last time they will meet.
Wu Qiao told Ji Yao that he would stay one more day, reconfirmed that the Yajiu positioning system had been turned off, and then galloped towards the Mushroom Star Field.
As soon as Tan Yan opened the door, Wu Qiao put his arms around Tan Yan's neck: "Marshal..."
"Ok?"
"No." Wu Qiao thought it was better to wait a while before explaining clearly, so he just pulled Tan Yan's neck off, pressed against his lips, and licked them over and over again.
Tan Yan was stunned for a moment, but he quickly realized that he dragged Wu Qiao into the room, pressed him against the wall and kissed him deeply.
After the kiss was over, Tan Yan picked up Wu Qiao and threw him on the bed.
"Tan Yan..." Wu Qiao looked at the person above him, "I... I have something to tell you."
Tan Yan looked at Wu Qiao, his eyes were very dark: "You don't need to say it, I know what it is."
"I don't want... to be a soldier anymore." Wu Qiao felt that he still wanted to say it. How could such a thing not be stated clearly
"Ok."
"Just as you said, one person chooses a path."
"Ok."
"Tan Yan," Wu Qiao hugged Tan Yan, and said, "I... I defected from the army. If I fail, I will definitely die."
Tan Yan touched Wu Qiao's lips with his thumb: "Then you will succeed."
"If you really succeed, you... you will fight the revolutionary army?" Wu Qiao asked Tan Yan.
"I don't intend to fight, but it's impossible not to touch it. I think the emperor will not let me fight in person in the early and mid-term. I want to fight against foreign enemies. He really doesn't want to be the king of subjugation. But... I definitely want to Those who sent troops to attack the revolutionary army, in order to maintain my identity, I cannot fight against the emperor, saying that I am your enemy is not wrong at all. But I will try my best to share some strength and weaknesses to reduce your risk of failure."
"Then, in the end, will you attack us yourself...?"
"..."
"Well," Wu Qiao said the plan he had repeatedly calculated in his mind, "when the time is right, you can surrender to the revolutionary army... okay? That way, although you have always been an enemy before, as long as you surrender in the end, you will still be very happy." It's possible to survive."
"surrender?"
"Hmm... Is it embarrassing for you to lose to me?"
"I have no problem losing to you." Tan Yan lifted Wu Qiao's hair up, touched his forehead to the opponent's, and said in a low voice, "But... I probably won't surrender."
"... what?" Wu Qiao's head was numb, even his fingertips were numb, and he couldn't help asking sharply, "Why?!"
"Wu Qiao... I didn't tell you, not long ago... I and Dai Lun's family were taken to the palace."
Wu Qiao suddenly opened his eyes wide.
"You also know that in the new military law, family members of soldiers who surrendered will be punished, and the worst case is execution. You should take away your parents and sister, right? But I can't, so in the end, probably... I There is no choice, I can deliberately lose to you, but I still have to listen to him and come back to save the field when you attack the capital. And, how should I put it... The emperor is kind to me after all, even if he is such a person. The status of the marshal is until the end, rather than a counterattack, it is considered unrewarding. I lose faster, complete the dynasty change as soon as possible, and don’t let the Republic take advantage of it.”
Wu Qiao didn't speak.
"I didn't tell you, I don't want you to lose yourself because of me."
"But Tan Yan..." Wu Qiao's eyes were wide open. He didn't want to cry, but water slipped from his eyes onto the pillow. "If you don't surrender, you will fight to the end. Do you know what that means?"
Who cares if you are forced to resist because of your family
"I know." Tan Yan touched Wu Qiao's lips again, "This means...on the day when all the dust settles, either you will judge me, or I will judge you, and you are destined to die forever."