The court suddenly fell silent.
"Hai Wuya, what are you talking about? The alien war forty years ago was already a foregone conclusion." Emperor Yonghe frowned.
The soldiers and civilians of the isolated city had just walked out of the desert, and the news was still confined to the Anxi Pass area and had not yet reached the imperial capital. Therefore, Emperor Yonghe and the court officials did not know the news yet.
The other court officials also discussed:
"Minister Hai, what kind of Arabian Nights are you talking about?"
"The place where the alien war took place has turned from fertile soil into a desert that is hundreds of miles long, barren and desolate, with no grass growing. How could there be any soldiers who have held on until now?"
Hai Wuya said: "That desert has become a forbidden zone for life. People who stray into it often get lost. This is actually just because of a maze formation set up by the Immortal Sect in the desert."
"Minister Hai, do you want to hear what you are talking about? This is a full forty years, which is the time of a generation. Do you mean that a hundred thousand troops have been trapped in the desert for forty years without any help and are still resisting?"
Someone whispered, "I heard that Hai Siyuan, the beloved son of Minister Hai, participated in the alien war... Maybe it's because Minister Hai loves his son too much, or maybe it's because Minister Hai has been locked up in the prison for too long and his mind is not clear..."
No one believed Hai Wuya's nonsense, even though he was a second-rank official and a minister.
After all, Hai Wuya had been imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison twice and stayed there for a total of thirty years. Although he held a high official position, he did not have many acquaintances in the current court, and he was considered an isolated minister of the previous emperor's time.
And this is too absurd, even storytellers wouldn't dare to make it up like this.
"Your Majesty, I have two witnesses waiting outside the palace." Hai Wuya's tone was still calm, but his palms were trembling slightly, revealing the ups and downs of his emotions.
How could he not be excited to reunite with his beloved son whom he thought was gone
How could he not be angry when he knew that his beloved son had been trapped in the desert for the past forty years
Emperor Yonghe frowned.
He knew that Hai Wuya was not a person who would make up stories, but this matter was too absurd...
"Then let your witness come into the palace." Emperor Yonghe said.
"Summon the witnesses into the palace!" the eunuch who delivered the message shouted loudly, and his voice echoed in the Golden Palace.
Captain Hai and Qiao Mu walked side by side, and under the watchful eyes of all the civil and military officials, they entered the hall step by step.
Qiao Mu is easy to deal with.
He had fought with the elders of the Immortal Sect before, although he also relied on the power of the Sword Exiled Immortal... But he felt uneasy when he saw the imperial court and the Golden Palace.
But it was not the case with Hai Siyuan, the commander of the sea.
His breathing became slightly rapid, the white beard on his chin trembled, and his steps became a little stiff.
He was not afraid, not because he lacked experience, and not because he was terrified of the emperor's majesty.
Instead, my emotions were surging and I couldn't control myself for a while.
The throne room of the imperial palace!
This was the place he had fantasized about in his mind for forty years.
Trapped in an isolated city in the desert for forty years, with one hundred thousand comrades fighting until only three hundred old soldiers remained... Naturally, he had imagined countless times that one day he would be able to leave the desert, enter the imperial palace and meet the emperor, and tell the current emperor the bloody and tearful history of the isolated city in the past forty years!
But when he finally left the city and heard about the current dire situation in Jiuzhou, his emotions and expectations changed unconsciously.
What I am thinking about now is not how to complain, how to tell the blood and tears of the remnant soldiers in the isolated city for forty years, how to tell the heroic deeds of the former soldiers, and how to pass down the deeds of my comrades-in-arms so that they will not be forgotten by the world and will not be despised by historians.
Instead, I want to ask Emperor Yonghe... whether he still cares about the 100,000 soldiers trapped in the desert, and why Taoist temples of strange people have now been opened all over the nine provinces
We have been fighting alone for forty years and holding on till now, why did Dayan kneel first? ! !
But when the time came, Captain Hai finally held back. He just silently dug his fingernails into the flesh of his palms, trying his best to control the impulse in his heart.
He is no longer the twenty-year-old young man who resolutely joined the army, but a sixty-year-old man.
"Your servant Hai Siyuan, the commander of the Great Yan Western Expedition Army, pays homage to Your Majesty."
"I am Qiao Shui, a commoner, and I pay my respects to Your Majesty." Qiao Mu also followed suit, but did not kneel.
"How dare you! Why don't you bow to His Majesty when you see him?" a palace guard immediately scolded.
"I am old and frail, and it is difficult for me to bend or stretch. I hope Your Majesty can forgive me." Qiao Mu said with a light cough.
This is not an exaggeration.
According to Dayan customs, people in their seventies or eighties can meet officials without bowing, which is considered respect for the elderly.
As for Qiao Mu in front of me... he is too old.
A centenarian can be called a centenarian, and he is already 210 years old this year.
Before he used his martial arts, he looked like a dying old man.
The ministers couldn't even tell how old the tree in front of them was. They could only guess that it must be over 80 or 90 years old.
"This is a minor matter, no need to be so formal." Emperor Yonghe, who was sitting on the dragon throne, was also intrigued by what Hai Wuya said. He looked at the two old men in front of the palace and asked:
"Hai Siyuan, are you the eldest son of Minister Hai? Are you really a surviving member of the Western Expedition Army?"
Hai Siyuan's chest kept rising and falling, and he said in a trembling voice:
"Your Majesty, the Western Expedition Army was not completely annihilated. We have held out for forty years. The isolated city still exists, the soldiers and civilians are still here, and the 100,000 soldiers have never kowtowed to foreigners. In the past forty years, there have been ghosts who died in battle, but no slaves who surrendered. We have lived up to the backbone of the Nine Provinces and the grace of the Great Yan Emperor!"
Emperor Yonghe's whole body trembled slightly.
Although it was difficult for him to judge the truth in Captain Hai's words at this moment, he had already felt an indescribable aura from this person's words.
There are ghosts who died in battle, but no slaves who surrendered!
After these words were spoken, there was a brief silence in the Golden Palace, and all the civil and military officials looked at Hai Siyuan.
Hai Siyuan's words vaguely made them feel a little bothered... .
What does it mean that there are ghosts who died in battle, but no slaves who surrendered
The civil and military officials during the Alien War are no longer the same as they are today; a new generation has taken over.
People all say that after a hundred thousand elite soldiers were annihilated in the alien war and a generation of civil officials and military officers sacrificed their lives, Dayan no longer has the character of its scholars or the backbone of its military men.
This generation of civil and military officials lives in an era when the nine major immortal sects are high and mighty and overpower Da Yan, so naturally, not many of them are tough.
Hai Siyuan's words hurt them vaguely and made many of the court officials angry.
"Where did Minister Hai find this actor? He speaks so realistically."
Hai Siyuan ignored them and just turned to look at Qiao Mu beside him.
"Mr. Qiao, please take out the tiger talisman of the former Western Expedition Army."
Qiao Mu nodded, took out a tiger talisman from the storage bag given to him by the old man in the armory, and held it high.
This tiger talisman was the one used by the former Martial Saint when he led the Western Expedition Army. When the Martial Saint left the desert alone, the tiger talisman was left to his deputy general Li Changge, and later it was passed to the hands of the old man in the armory.
The discussions in the court quieted down.
The eunuch in front of the hall took the tiger talisman from Qiao Mu's hand and presented it to Emperor Yonghe and the ministers in the court for careful identification. Immediately, the atmosphere in the Golden Throne Hall changed.
"This tiger talisman is not a fake." Emperor Yonghe's head buzzed, and the look in his eyes when he looked at Captain Hai was obviously different.
"Did the former Western Expedition Army really hold out in the desert for forty years?" The other civil and military officials were also in doubt:
"You have been isolated in the desert for forty years and have held your ground till now, without surrendering or bowing down?"
"If this is true, it will go down in history!"
"What kind of will and integrity is this? How could they have been able to hold out for forty years and resist till now?"
Everyone knows how powerful the Yi Ren are, especially those powerful officials of the Dayan court.
So when the tiger talisman was confirmed to be authentic, their attitude changed drastically.
Emperor Yonghe was cheered up. It was not because he was suspicious, but because this matter was so bizarre.
In this world today, there are still such loyal Dayan soldiers
"Tell me in detail how you have managed to hold on until now, and why you are trapped in the desert?" Emperor Yonghe asked:
"Of the 100,000-man army in the past, only 300 veterans are left now." Captain Hai glanced at Qiao Mu next to him:
"If it weren't for Qiao Shuangsen and others from the Qiao family who came into the desert to help us, we would have been reduced to dust by now."
Hai Siyuan's eyes were dim:
"For forty years, our remnant army has been trapped in the desert, isolated and helpless, and we have no idea of the rise and fall of the Yan Dynasty in the outside world."
"The Immortal Sect has set up a large formation in the desert, which has the ability to capture souls. The formation isolates the inside and outside, making it difficult for ordinary people to enter or leave..."
"Every ten days or half a month, strange people would attack the city with magic. Over the past forty years, the number of defenders has been decreasing... We only found out about this later." Hai Siyuan said in a trembling voice;
"The Yi Ren Dao Sect calls this place the 'Hundred Mile Desert'. It is a secret place controlled by the Dao Sect!"
"This hundred-mile desert is just a place for the Dao Sect's disciples to gain experience and practice magic..."
Da Dao Sect
Speaking of Da Dao Sect, the atmosphere in the court, which had been gradually becoming heated, suddenly turned cold.
The faces of all the civil and military officials froze slightly.
Even Emperor Yonghe, whose face was beaming with joy, paused.
The Alien War was a thing of the past forty years ago.
It's easy and insignificant to praise an old soldier like Captain Hai by giving him a thumbs up.
But the Da Dao Sect is a behemoth that still stands in Zhongzhou!
Forty years later, the Great Yan court has reached a "reconciliation" with the nine major immortal sects, treating the disciples of the immortal sects as guests of honor. It has used all of Great Yan's resources to establish Taoist temples in major cities in Kyushu, allowing the people to worship gods and immortals.
Now, Captain Hai is accusing the Dao Sect of setting up the Hundred Miles Desert as a secret place for the sect, and treating the heroic souls of 100,000 soldiers as resources and property... .
"Don't speak nonsense..." A court official, sweating on his forehead, tried to smooth things over:
"This matter concerns the reputation of the Immortal Sect and is of great importance, Hai Siyuan. Even if you are the son of Minister Hai, you should know the importance of this matter..."
Hai Siyuan looked at the courtier in astonishment as he winked at him, not quite understanding what he meant.
Is he implying that... he should take his words back and not slander the Da Dao Sect
Chapter 222 Are you all ashamed? (5k
Captain Hai looked at the courtier in the crowd who was winking at him and his mind went blank.
Was this courtier of Dayan really what he imagined
Is he hinting that he should not slander the Immortal Sect? Even after hearing about the tragedy of the remnant soldiers in the lonely city
Who knew that he couldn't even speak
He subconsciously looked around and felt a little confused.
Hai Wuya seemed to see the hesitation and wavering of Captain Hai, and spoke at this time:
"Siyuan, keep talking. Say whatever you want to say. Don't be shy."
Hai Wuya glared, and the courtier who had just made the suggestion immediately looked away and stopped talking.
Although Hai Wuya had just been out of the Heavenly Prison a few months ago, as a Shangshu, he was still an influential figure in the court.
Not to mention that Hai Wuya himself is also a warrior. Even though his rank is not very high and he is old, he is still imposing.
Captain Hai looked at his father. Although he was a little confused, he continued:
"It is undoubtedly the Da Dao Sect that created the 'Hundred Miles of Desert'!"
"It was they who turned the fertile land of Zhongzhou into a hundred miles of desert. It was also they who blocked the news, used a large formation to isolate the inside and outside, and made the outside world of Jiuzhou believe that our 100,000 soldiers were wiped out forty years ago."
"The most difficult and harsh environment can give birth to the best quality soldiers... Even if we die in bloody battles, we may not be able to rest in peace after death. We will be used by them from birth to death..."
Captain Hai began to narrate the bloody and tearful history of the lonely city over the past forty years.
From the moment General Li Changge broke through at the end of his life and killed the alien but also died, to later the remnants of the army gradually withered away, leaving only a few hundred white-haired old soldiers.
During the forty years, it was not only the former Western Expedition Army that fought hard, but also the young and strong people of this city.
But later, the young and middle-aged men in these cities continued to die. Now, forty years later, there are only about 300 soldiers who can still go to the battlefield, and only women, children, and the disabled and the elderly are left in the isolated city. There are almost no complete families.
While Captain Hai was speaking, many court officials hesitated and wanted to interrupt him, but were basically suppressed by Hai Wuya's eyes, intentionally or unintentionally.
Captain Hai spoke with dry mouth but tears in his eyes. The past forty years passed like smoke, and he talked about the past until now, which was the last year when only three hundred old soldiers were left on the city wall.
"Three hundred old soldiers can't withstand several rounds of attacks from aliens, so the city was destroyed this year, the only difference is sooner or later... We originally thought so, until an old man from the Qiao family named Qiao, Qiao Shuangsen, walked into the lonely city..."