The seven-virtuous dragon opens the jade tent, and the thousand-mile drum stacks the golden gong.
The high fortress is buried in the bitter mist of Yinshan Mountain, and the lonely moon shines on the company's camp in Jiaohe.
Eight years later.
Western Regions, Jiaohe.
The military tents are stationed along the Hongyan Mountains, and countless war horses walk along the banks of the Shahe River to drink water, winding endlessly as far as the eye can see. It was at dusk when Mingjin finished the drill, and the soldiers in the camp came and went in an orderly manner, and the dust raised by their footsteps reflected the misty golden light in the afterglow.
The sheepskin blanket was lifted, and an extremely tall man walked out of the camp with a short dagger inserted into his lower back.
He didn't wear armor like ordinary soldiers. He only wore a thin undershirt on his upper body, revealing his strong back and long legs as he walked. He randomly grabbed a long sword in his hand, the sheath was wrapped in rags, and only a ring of white shark skin that had turned gray and yellow due to not cleaning it all year round was exposed on the handle.
Soldiers returning to the camp along the way stopped and saluted one after another.
The man nodded without saying a word, and walked towards the coach's tent.
Handsome account.
The servants removed the remnants of the seats and served another table of wine, food and snacks. At the guest table, a fat old man covered in gold and silver, kind-hearted and kind-hearted clapped his hands and said with a smile: "Is this the famous 'Jade Crisp Mountain' in China? Master Xiao really doesn't need to be so troublesome, Xiao Wang is just..."
"Your Highness has said it before." Xiao Siye stroked his beard and said with a smile, "Your Highness led the Khotan army to defeat Tubo, and decided to take the princess to the pilgrimage and submit to the Tang Dynasty. This is the merit of thousands of generations. Why should you be polite to me?"
King Khotan and the princess wearing a veil looked at each other and laughed: "Please, please!"
After drinking for three rounds again, the King of Khotan put down his wooden chopsticks and sighed:
"It's a pity that although the temporary defeat of Tubo is not a long-term solution. Over the years, the four towns of Anxi have changed owners several times, and countless Tubo spies have been mixed in the Jiaohe area. Their appearance is no different from that of the local people, and they have long been indistinguishable..."
"Your Highness is afraid of being attacked on the way to the pilgrimage?" Xiao Siye asked.
King Khotan said frankly: "Don't be afraid of the adults' jokes. In the first battle of Hongyan Mountain, the country's elites were almost wiped out. Fortunately, the Celestial Dynasty sent cavalry to rescue them, and they were able to preserve the final victory. Now that there is a shortage of soldiers in the country, if we want to ensure that Xiao Wang goes to Chang'an If it is safe along the way, at least half of the domestic army must be brought along, but in this way..."
Xiao Siye laughed: "Your Highness is afraid that the domestic military force will be empty, and Tubo will take advantage of it again?"
King Khotan nodded seriously, and sighed: "Small country and weak people! There is no way!—"
Fu Jiaxiong, the king of Khotan, is chubby. He wears countless red and sapphires, emerald green cat eyes, and gold and silver collars all over his body.
Fortunately, Princess Khotan was slender and graceful, with bright eyes and charming eyes, and she looked nothing like her father, otherwise it would definitely become a great tragedy—not only for herself, but also for Li Tang's royal family.
The king of Khotan brought the princess to the audience, probably for the sake of marriage, and the choice of the relatives did not think of anything but the prince.
Xiao Siye looked at the princess, heaved a sigh of relief for the prince, and said with a smile: "Your Highness, you don't have to worry about safety. The Holy Majesty was very pleased when he learned that His Highness was willing to surrender the whole country, so he specially issued an imperial edict and appointed a strong general in the army to personally escort His Highness and the princess All the way to Beijing... "
King Khotan said: "May I ask which general it is?" Then he remembered something, and his eyes lit up: "Little Wang has not had time to thank Mr. Xiao! The young general who flew to rescue him in Hongyan Valley that day walked hundreds of steps away. He drew his bow from outside, and among the thousands of troops and horses, an arrow pierced through the head of the Tubo general Qi Guli! The whole army shouted thunderously... "
A short and deep male voice came from outside the door:
"Xiao Shuai."
Xiao Siye smiled broadly, stood up and said, "Here we come! Come in soon?"
As soon as the tent door was lifted, Yu Hui slanted in.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the man walked into the handsome tent with a neat silhouette wrapped in the wind, sand and cold outside the Great Wall.
King Khotan was originally smiling, but his eyes changed instantly.
— This is the second time he has seen this face.
The first time I saw this person was on the bloody battlefield in the Red Rock Valley. The king of Khotan led a 50,000-strong army to march, and burned all the food and grass in the enemy's camp. The Tubo army was forced to retreat southward in the raging flames. People surrounded the battlefield.
At that time, Khotan had killed only 10,000 people, and the number of cavalry was less than 3,000. The opponent was an elite army of 80,000 Tibetans. Looking at the mountains and plains, the king of Khotan really thought he was going to destroy the country. Dissatisfied with the high-tax rule for a long time, he has long been interested in the Tang Dynasty, and Tubo will not let go of this opportunity to completely destroy them.
What's more, there is one of the most notorious characteristics of Qiguli, which is well known to all countries in the Western Regions: killing and surrendering.
To fight is to die, and to surrender is also to die. The king of Khotan was heartbroken and ordered to use a strong crossbow to transport flint and fire oil to the battlefield, preparing to burn the entire Hongyan Mountain and die with the Tubo army. At that time, the whole army resounded with tragic songs, and the soldiers threw countless kerosene into the valley. Just as they were about to ignite the fire, the screams of killing shook the sky in the distance, and the red general flag with the word "Shan" was raised.
"Tang Jun..."
"It's Tang Jun!"
"The reinforcements from the Anxi Protectorate have arrived!"
King Khotan shook off the guards who wanted to help him, and reluctantly climbed up to have a look. I saw a rider of Hongchen standing out from the crowd, galloping down the mountain, unstoppable in the direction of the war halberd, like killing a wave of blood soaring into the sky amidst thousands of troops and horses!
The Tubo general Qi Guli roared loudly, and was about to move his horse forward to fight in person, but saw the young general stab with his backhand, and the steel halberd pierced a Tubo cavalryman behind him from the top of his head. The giant bow behind him.
The next scene is deeply imprinted in the minds of everyone on the battlefield, and it is still indelible.
The general drew the bow and set the arrow, the iron string was as tight as the bright moon, and the distance of a hundred feet was like a moat. The whistling wind, the burning flames, and the galloping horses all became invisible, and the world stood still at that moment.
The Vajra arrow pierced the sky like a shooting star, spinning and flying across the battlefield.
Begging bone force's hand kept the movement of drawing the knife, and the next moment, the arrow entered from the throat, and the force of the force even tore the neck, and the whole head was taken off and rushed out!
The whole battlefield was suddenly dead silent, and then tens of thousands of people roared and roared straight to the sky, turning into terrifying sound waves and going in all directions!
The general reined in his horse and stood up, drew his sword out of its sheath, turned his back on his elite cavalry who were coming from all directions, and shouted: "—Kill!"
In the Battle of Hongyan Valley, with only 10,000 troops left, Khotan joined up with 10,000 additional reinforcements sent by the Anxi Dufu. The terrain is broken by 80,000 people in Tubo, and the mountains and valleys are full of human corpses.
Khotan jedi counterattacked and drove Tubo out of its homeland, and the war in the entire Western Regions finally turned to the Tang Dynasty.
The first thing the king of Khotan did after the war was to find the general who led the Tang army. However, when he found the river bank, he saw the young man facing him sideways, sitting cross-legged on a rock in the water. Cut a piece of wood with a short dagger.
King Khotan had the opportunity to look at him carefully at this time, and there was only one thought in an instant: what a handsome young man!
"What is it?"
King Khotan was taken aback for a moment, and then realized that the words were addressed to himself, and hurriedly said: "The kindness of the general's rescue today, I and the whole country will never forget it, so I came here to express my gratitude. The current battle situation is not completely over. When he waits for the king to have a big banquet to celebrate his victory, the general must honor him..."
The young general stood up, leaped lightly and fell from the river to the bank. While putting the wood in his pocket, he walked towards the camp in the distance, and said in a flat and unwavering voice, "Thank you."
The king of Khotan was interrupted mercilessly, and he was a little dazed.
When he reacted, he saw that the general had already walked away on the other side of the river.
·
From that day on, the King of Khotan was busy clearing up the war situation and appeasing the people, so he had no time to inquire about the general. However, he didn't forget the young killer who took the head of the general among the 100,000 soldiers. When he visited Xiao Siye this time, he had the idea of inquiring, but he didn't expect that he was caught off guard before he could speak. We had a face-to-face meeting.
"I will see you in the end..."
Xiao Siye supported him with both hands, and said angrily, "Why did you arrive so late? Come and pay your respects, this is His Royal Highness Fu Jiaxiong, King of Khotan, and this is Princess Sadali, who is about to set off to the east to meet the current Holy Majesty..."
The young general turned around, clasped his fists at King Tian and the princess, and said calmly, "I have seen Your Highness."
When he nodded, because of the angle, his brows slanted upward like the edge of a sword, and his eyes were deep and cold, like a bottomless abyss, not even a ray of light could be reflected in, making one subconsciously feel a chill in his heart.
Princess Sadali's fingers resting on the edge of the table trembled, and she whispered in her father's ear: "Abba, look at this man's eyes, why are they so..."
It's so cold, King Khotan thought.
—Because he killed many people.
But he didn't answer his daughter's words, he just raised his hand to hold her down, and stood up with a smile on his face: "Long-awaited, long-awaited! This king and the general are destined to meet each other today. It's a great honor! - Dare to ask Mr. Xiao, who is this?" What is the name of the little general?"
Xiao Siye happily said:
"His Royal Highness congratulates him. His surname is Shan, and his last name is super. He is the one who will escort His Highness and the Princess to Chang'an this time. Come on, General Shan has not eaten yet, and another table will be served at the Quanyang Mat. "
The two parties met each other and sat down. The chef personally brought the iron rack for roasting the whole lamb in to cut the meat, and someone came up to pour wine, but Shan Chao raised his hand to block it, saying: "Cold water is enough."
King Khotan asked with a smile, "General Shan doesn't drink alcohol?"
Shan Chao waved his hand to signal not to drink, and then turned to Xiao Siye who was sitting in the first seat: "Shuai Xiao said just now that he escorted His Royal Highness to Chang'an, what did you mean?"
Xiao Siye said with a "hmm": "You don't know, His Highness admires the martial arts and martial arts of the current saint, and decided to bring the princess to the pilgrimage, and the whole country submits..."
After the war is over, the next step is naturally to rebuild the country. The four towns of Anxi, which have been ruled by high pressure for several years, now have no coppers anymore. If they want to gain a chance of survival in front of the covetous Tubo, they will naturally turn to the vast and rich Tang Dynasty.
Therefore, the King of Khotan did not delay for a moment. After the war, he quickly submitted the letter of surrender to the Celestial Dynasty; the Holy Majesty saw that the dragon was overjoyed, and quickly approved it. On the one hand, he escorted the King of Khotan to the court, and on the other hand, he also returned to Beijing to receive awards and rewards for meritorious deeds.
Xiao Siye expressed his satisfaction with this arrangement: Shan Chao is his confidant, and it is a good thing to get promoted.
King Khotan was also very satisfied, not to mention the reasons.
Unexpectedly, after Shan Chao heard the whole story, he got up after a moment of silence and said, "Please forgive Xiao Shuai."
Xiao Siye asked: "What?"
"It's inconvenient for the last general to return to the capital because of his duties. It will be the same if he rewards you in the future. Please Xiao Shuai send someone else."
Xiao Siye's first reaction was that he heard it wrong, and then his face darkened: "What did you say?"
"..."
"How can you disobey the imperial decree? Are you crazy? This is to ask you to go to Beijing to reward, not to be punished. What excuses are there!"
"..."
Xiao Siye waved his hand: "Needless to say, you will hand over the military affairs tomorrow, pack up and prepare to leave! That's the decision!"
"Xiao Shuai," Shan Chao finally said, his eyes were calm and calm, as if nothing could leave traces in it: "—the last general can't accept orders, please forgive me."
Xiao Siye didn't come up in one breath, and almost choked to death from the wine.
Shan Chao bowed slightly to salute, and walked out of the tent.
At this time, the cook who came in to cut the leg of lamb just stepped back half a step, left Shan Chao's empty table, and turned to King Khotan.
Xiao Siye coughed earth-shatteringly in the first seat, and the attendants rushed to the front to deliver tea and water; King Khotan was sitting below, thinking about making a sound to keep Shan Chao, when he caught a glimpse of the cook coming towards him from the corner of his eyes, he didn't look carefully, so he waved it casually. He waved his hand: "Go down, I don't need to—"
At the moment when no one saw it, a sharp light flashed in the chef's eyes, and he quickly stepped forward.
King Khotan paused instinctively, and then the cold light flashed, and the cook actually grabbed the boning knife and stabbed at him!
Princess Sadari screamed, "Ah—"
boom!
King Khotan subconsciously grabbed something to block it, and the sharp knife smashed the porcelain plate in his hand; the cook grabbed King Khotan's hand, and stabbed his face with the second knife;
At the same time, Shan Chao turned his head and frowned.
Just when the tip of the boning knife was only a few inches away from King Khotan's terrified face, a short dagger whirled and whizzed towards him, and all he heard was—Puff!
The short dagger was deeply nailed into the cook's back shoulder, the tip of the dagger protruded out of the body, and blood burst and splashed.
Immediately afterwards, the boning knife in the cook's hand fell to the ground with a clang!
"General Shan!"
This sound was called out by Princess Sadali. Shan Chao's face sank like water, and he withdrew the hand that threw the dagger. He disappeared in place and reappeared in an instant. "Come on!"
Footsteps came rushing in from outside the tent door, and the soldiers rushed in, their faces turned pale with shock.
King Khotan staggered to his feet, and the table, table and chopsticks fell to the ground. Princess Shadali immediately retreated into the corner of the tent protecting her father. Xiao Siye patted the table and stood up, his face still flushed with choking trachea, pointing at the cook and yelling, "Who are you?!"
The princess screamed angrily: "Lord Xiao, what's going on?!"
The king of Khotan stopped it loudly: "Sha Dali!"
Suddenly, swords were on the verge of breaking out in the handsome tent, and everyone was clear-eyed:
If the king of Khotan was assassinated in the tent of the Tang commander, it would not only be a matter between the two countries, but the seriousness would be enough to shake the unstable situation in the entire western region.
Who is this assassin? !
The cook's face twisted strangely, as if he had licked something between his teeth and was about to swallow it down his throat.
"—No, he's going to take poison!"
Before Xiao Siye finished his sentence, Shan Chao grabbed the cook's throat with his iron-like hand, seemingly simple but in fact he pinched it skillfully, the cook immediately coughed, and a red pill sprayed to the ground!
"Cough, cough, cough..." The assassin struggled unwillingly, and Shan Chao casually threw it to the soldiers for custody, and stepped forward to pick up the poison.
"—Tuban people." Shan Chao said indifferently, stepped forward under the focus of all the anxious eyes, and put the poison in front of the vigilant Princess Sadali: "Chi Liuli, the secret poison of the Tubo royal palace, you can check it based on this."
After saying that, he turned around and walked out of the handsome tent without another word.
On the banks of the Shahe River, the twilight of the sky and the wild, the wild geese flitting across the sky in a row, and the war horses neighing and rushing towards the distant camp.
The young general sat alone on the rocky beach, wearing a thin armor and carrying a long sword, looking at the unformed wood carving in his hand.
After a long time, footsteps came from not far away, followed by Xiao Siye's voice, and said kindly: "—Shan Chao."
Shan Chao put away the wooden carvings, Xiao Siye came up and lifted up one side of his clothes, adjusted a comfortable posture and squatted beside him, saying: "The result of the assassin's interrogation came out, he is from Tubo, and he was shot through by you on the battlefield." Beggar's subordinate. He has been in the camp for several months, this time for revenge... "
As he said, Shan Chao nodded and remained silent. After a while, Xiao Siye sighed: "Go to Chang'an, Shan Chao. The imperial decree was approved and sealed by the emperor and empress. You can't be perfunctory. Why don't you go to such a good thing?" Woolen cloth?"
Shan Chao sat cross-legged, stroking the hard sharkskin texture on Qixing Longyuan's scabbard with one hand, and his sharp and profound facial features were shrouded in the shadow of the backlight.
Xiao Siye sized him up for a moment, then tentatively asked: "Are you... worried about someone in the capital?"
Shan Chao snapped his fingers.
Xiao Siye vaguely guessed something: "...Because of the commander of the Beiya imperial army?"