After winning the battle, these stragglers became more confident, collected their spoils, and went to bed without talking.
The night was already deep. When Yue Pengju came back from patrol, he saw Ruda sitting next to a bonfire and falling asleep, snoring loudly. Not far away, Hua Rong was leaning on a tree, leaning forward, also dozing off.
He walked over, sat down next to her, took off his clothes and covered her. As soon as his hand left, Hua Rong woke up and said with a smile: "You should rest too."
He nodded: "Sister, this journey has been very hard, how can you bear it?"
"I have suffered more hardships, but in comparison, this is nothing? What's more, we won a big victory today, and it's too late for me to be happy. Pengju, I like this kind of life very much, and I will follow you from now on. Look How many golden bandits can be killed and driven away..."
The bonfire was burning brightly, making her face blush. Yue Pengju glanced at her and looked away. An extremely strange and sweet feeling surged in his heart, as if this road full of thorns was now filled with flowers. .
Hua Rong thought of meeting Li Xing and said, "Do you still remember the pirate Li Xing? He actually came to Zhongjiazhuang..."
Seeing the worried look on Hua Rong's face, he knew that she was afraid of the days of being abused on the island, so he couldn't help but hold her hand: "Sister, don't be afraid, I will never let anyone bully you again."
The hands holding her were soft, just like the memories from childhood, but now there was an unfamiliar heartbeat. He subconsciously let go of her hand immediately. Hua Rong didn't notice anything unusual about him, and was very happy. During this reunion, Yue Pengju not only grew into a man with outstanding martial arts skills, but also impressed her with his military skills and calmness. Although he was a younger brother, with him by his side, it seemed that he was in great danger and she was in no danger. Afraid.
The night was getting deeper and deeper. Amidst the sound of firewood burning, Hua Rong slowly leaned against the tree and looked at the stars in the sky. He went to seek refuge with the Ninth Prince along the way, but he didn't know what the scene was like. The civil and military forces in the court are all treacherous and sycophantic. Can the Ninth Prince alone be able to turn the tide
Over the past few years, she has been on the run, not to mention avenging her parents. Even the way home has gone in the opposite direction, and she has lost track of her direction more and more. She sighed softly: "The sky is full of clouds, and the sound of rolling cars is like water. The white grass is yellow. There are three or two isolated villages in the sand, and the moon shines on them. The flying giant is passing by, and I am filled with sorrow and no day or night. I am approaching Yanshan Mountain, and it is difficult to return home.
Yue Pengju, who was sitting behind her, heard her melancholy and desolation, and whispered: "Sister, I will always be here from now on."
From now on, I will always be here!
She laughed, feeling that these words were so powerful, and a wave of tiredness came over her. She slowly leaned against the tree, closed her eyes and fell asleep. She felt very peaceful, and felt safer than the days at Zhongjiazhuang.
At some point, her head rested on Yue Pengju's shoulder from the tree. She never woke up, but in her dream, she felt very comfortable resting on a comfortable pillow.
We slept and slept in the open air all the way, and when we arrived at the Ninth Prince's residence, it was already early winter.
After the announcement, the guard came out and replied, saying that the Ninth Prince was studying the military situation and asked everyone to wait.
It was approaching evening, and Ruda couldn't sit still anymore, so he dragged his Zen staff and said, "The Sa family is going for a walk. Do you want to go?"
This is the Xiangzhou camp and cannot be disturbed.
Before the two of them spoke, they heard a burst of hurried footsteps, led by none other than the Ninth Prince. The three of them saluted immediately, and the Ninth Prince chuckled: "No gifts, no gifts. I am very happy to see my old friend..." He was very happy. He patted Yue Pengju on the shoulder happily, "I have heard that you have repeatedly made military exploits and defeated the Jin invaders with a small number and a large number. This time, I will promote you to Bingyilang..."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"Ruda, you should also stay under the little king's tent. The king needs a strong general like you very much."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness, but the Sa family is used to being idle, and there are still some worldly affairs involved. Let's talk about it later."
The Ninth Prince knew that he was unruly by nature, so he no longer forced himself. At this moment, he turned to Hua Rong, and after just one glance, his eyes lit up. The weak girl who had run away from marriage had now turned into a heroic figure. White shirt, light yellow soft socks, willow eyebrows with tired smoke, eyes like autumn water, fragrant skin with jade snow... The beauty that I saw for the first time seems to have grown up, like a flower blooming at the right time.
The Ninth Prince grew up in the palace and was used to seeing countless beauties. Now, he felt that all the women he had seen in his life combined were not as good as the woman in front of him.
As a woman, Hua Rong came to seek refuge. She didn’t know what the Ninth Prince was planning, whether to accept her or not. But when she saw him looking at her blindly, she felt anxious and bowed before saying, "Hua Rong has learned a little bit about riding in the past few years." The art of archery has nowhere to go in these troubled times, but I want to be a soldier under the prince's command, and I sincerely ask for your permission..."
Only then did the Ninth Prince come back to his senses and laughed: "When Xu Caizhi went to Zhongjiazhuang earlier, he reported back to me that the girl had mastered the superb archery technique of piercing a poplar with a hundred steps. There was Hua Mulan in ancient times, and there is also a poplar in this dynasty. Now is the time to hire a female general, and I can’t wait to see you..."
Hua Rong was overjoyed: "Thank you, Your Majesty."
The Ninth Prince summoned Xu Caizhi, "Please go down immediately and arrange a separate room for Miss Hua."
"yes."
Hua Rong was very grateful when she saw that he not only agreed but also thought carefully about her. Yue Pengju was originally worried that her sister would be a woman and would be inconvenienced in a men's camp. Now that the Ninth Prince had arranged a separate room for her, he was even happier than she was. The two siblings looked at each other, and Luda also smiled: "Mei, the Sa family is relieved now. Tomorrow, the Sa family will leave Xiangzhou early in the morning and will not say goodbye to you... "
Hua Rong had taken care of him many times over the years and had already regarded him as an elder brother. Although she was reluctant to part with him, she knew his usual habits and didn't say much. She just nodded and then the three of them went to sleep in peace.
Hua Rong's room is a side room of the commander's camp. Although it is simple, it is very clean. Opening the window, you can see rows of green poplars outside, with straight branches piercing the sky like javelins.
She sat on the only stool in the room and burned incense for a while, when she heard a knock on the door. She went to open the door, but it was the Ninth Prince and the guard holding the lamp behind, holding a box in his hand.
She quickly let the Ninth Prince into the house, and then said: "Ninth Prince, is something wrong?"
The guard put the box on the table and opened it. The Ninth Prince looked around the room and said with a smile: "The room is too simple, I really feel wronged girl. I know that you often practice calligraphy, so I gave you a set of pen and ink..."
In the military in troubled times, Hua Rong naturally did not bring the cumbersome writing and ink packages, but only a few military books. Seeing that the Ninth Prince had considered it so thoughtfully, he hurriedly thanked him. The Ninth Prince did not stay and left quickly.
The next day, Hua Rong got up early as usual and practiced Professor Luda's boxing skills for a while, then she heard the loud drill sound from the distant school field. She quietly walked forward along the row of trees and stopped in a hidden place. Next, I saw the Ninth Prince personally inspecting, and from time to time correcting the unqualified posture of the soldiers holding guns.
The army of this dynasty collapsed at the first touch due to neglect of training. However, seeing this army showing a rejuvenating atmosphere, Hua Rong was very happy and secretly said that he and his brother had not defected to the wrong master.
evening.
A huge warship sailed towards the island. It was almost docking, and its speed had already slowed down.
The vast expanse of sea is very calm, and the sky is still as blue as ever, making it difficult to see through. As we get closer, the waves hit the rocks, making a muffled sound.
There are thousands of large and small ships lined up on the shore, including the ancient five-tooth warship, but it is obviously nothing anymore, because there are at least seven or eight ships much larger than it parked here. Warships, and the largest one is the three-story warship that is slowly docking. It is fully equipped, not only with the serial cover crossbows fired, but also the muskets obtained by the pirates.
As soon as the ship docked, King Qin jumped off the ship. Behind him, hundreds of fully equipped pirates came down one after another and formed a neat team. King Qin walked majestically at the front, staring at the cold stars, his eyebrows as thick as paint. Like the devil star in the sky and Tai Sui on earth, he is the real pirate king on this ocean.
Over the years, he has successively conquered more than a dozen pirate forces on major coastal islands. His men have grown from less than a hundred before to more than 5,000 now, with thousands of ships. He has repeatedly defeated the imperial navy and has become the real "overlord" on this ocean. ". He has repeatedly claimed that the warships, firearms, and military strength he possesses have long exceeded the entire naval power of the imperial court.
Although King Qin still controls the forces on seven or eight islands along the coast, his main activities are still in his hometown. The buildings on the island have also been greatly improved, from the original simple shacks to hundreds of houses, which are very modern. The atmosphere of the outer kingdom has changed.
The most luxurious one is the "Imperial Palace" of King Qin. It was re-reinforced and renovated on the original basis, making it magnificent and magnificent. The island's meeting hall is also located here.
But no matter how grand they are, the pirates are not here for most of the year, and their lives are still on the run.
As soon as we returned to the meeting hall, the little pirate on duty reported that Li Xing, who had gone south, was back and had something important to report.
King Qin immediately said: "My name is Li Xing."
Li Xing, who had been waiting for a long time, trotted in and bowed first, with a happy expression on his face: "Your Majesty, there is good news..."
King Qin's expression remained unchanged. Over the past six years, he had heard countless reports of "good news" coming back from searching everywhere. However, it was later proven that the so-called "good news" were all useless fake rewards.
After years of no results, he was almost giving up. That girl might have been buried in the belly of the fish long ago.
He asked casually: "Li Xing, what's the good news?"
"When I was out this time, when I passed by Zhongjiazhuang, I saw a woman who looked exactly like Madam..."
Li Xing knew Hua Rong, and he was always cautious in doing things. He was different from other fake little pirates who made noises. King Qin almost jumped up: "Are you serious?"
"Seriously. The villain asked the banker, and the banker said it was a lady from the Zhong family. The villain didn't pay attention at the time. As he was walking forward, he heard passers-by talking and said that recently there was a young officer named Yue Pengju who led the officers and soldiers to win with less. Used a strange plan to wipe out the local bandits Tao Jun and others..."
"Yue Pengju? Is that the little brat?"
"Exactly. After the villain got this news, he immediately returned to Zhongjiazhuang, but saw the woman leaving in a hurry, wearing a helmet, and refusing to show her true face. The villain wanted to see what happened, and he was ashamed that he had protected her from leaving. It was Kansi Ruda who was there. The little people were no match for him. He waved his Zen staff and injured most of them. They didn’t dare to catch up anymore... "