〖Wuyin, the first year of Longsheng, on March 24th, King Li Xian of Qi reorganized his army to Anze, and the Northern Han army retreated to Qinyuan.
— "Zizhi Tongjian·Yongji III"〗
Soaking in the hot spring comfortably, I was squinting and enjoying the rare leisure time, when suddenly a desolate song came from the shore: "The birds of prey are not crowded, it is true from the previous life; Xi, the husband is in a different way and at peace with each other; bend the heart and suppress the will, endure the stubbornness and slander; keep the innocence and die straight, and consolidate the former sage.” I was so shocked that I almost stumbled and fell in the water, this Ji Xuan, it's really too much. When I was arguing with him two days ago, it was nothing to be refuted by him. After all, he is a scholar of classics, and I am willing to be inferior. But this old gentleman has a good temper in the past two days, and he recites poems and odes there when he has nothing to do. That's all, the scholar is elegant, and there is nothing wrong with it, but he can't always sing Quzi's poems there, what is it? Xi, how hard it is for the people to live.” What is “I do what I do best, even if I die nine times, I have no regrets.” This is a mockery of my backing to Chu and throwing Yong Yong. Well, I will endure. After I join the army, I don't have to stay with him. I will send him to the emperor in the future, and I must be careful to avoid him. I gave the old man a vicious look, I was no longer interested in bathing, and said to Xiao Shunzi on the shore, "Help me up, I have to change."
Under my influence, Xiao Shunzi is also quite prose in poetry and prose, and he is well aware of Ji Xuan's sarcasm, but I have no choice, so he can only watch from the side, after all, this old gentleman is not An extremely vicious enemy is just an old man with a good face. With Zhao Liang here, this old man will never do anything too much, so I feel a little wronged, and Xiao Shunzi is just joking.
Seeing Xiao Shunzi snickering secretly, I could only feel depressed in my heart. After landing, I put on the clothes Xiao Shunzi handed me over, and while wiping the water droplets from my hair with a square towel, I said, "It's already twenty-three today. Today, King Qi should have regrouped. Su Qing went to investigate the military situation. I think they should be able to join the army in the next two days. At that time, let King Qi send someone to send their master and apprentice to Zezhou, out of sight and out of mind. what do you think?"
Xiao Shunzi's eyes flashed, and he looked at Ji Xuan, who was walking not far away, and Zhao Liang, who looked embarrassed beside Ji Xuan, and sneered, "Young Master is asking for trouble, Old Mr. Ji is stubborn, if it wasn't because he was in the way. Zhao Liang is also in our hands, I'm afraid he won't be so polite. If such a person gets the emperor's letter in the future, this old gentleman is so open-hearted, I'm afraid it will damage the son's reputation. They just killed them, so why bother?"
My heart trembled, and I peeked, seeing that the old man and the young man should not be able to hear Xiao Shunzi's voice, so I whispered: "How can this be done, if I kill them, I'm afraid I will be in the minds of the Northern Han scholars. His reputation is going to be stinky. As long as they can be used by me, I don't have to be wronged. Besides, this Ji Xuan upholds the belief of 'to help the world if you are rich, and to be alone if you are poor'. Dissatisfied with Liu Sheng's establishment of the country, he did not submit a letter to directly remonstrate, nor did he have a vegetarian meal, but abandoned the official and went into hiding, which shows that he is not a foolish and loyal person. Now he mocks me, which is to vent his dissatisfaction and test my behavior. If If I care about this matter, wouldn’t it make him look down on Dayong Junchen, so I can’t care about it.”
Xiao Shunzi nodded silently, and did not continue to persuade me to kill. In fact, Xiao Shunzi might not have understood the reason, but he regarded me as a father and brother, and did not want to see anyone bully me. I secretly smiled bitterly in my heart. There is one more thing I didn’t say more. In the hearts of those ignorant, loyal and filial scholars, I am afraid that my reputation is already stinky, even if there is another Ji Xuan, what does it matter.
Seeing the banner of King Qi from a distance, Su Qing finally breathed a sigh of relief, and he immediately said to the guards at the camp gate: "Su Qing, the last general, has come to see His Royal Highness King Qi at the order of the supervisor."
The guard recognized Su Qing, and as soon as he heard that Jiang Zhe had sent him, he immediately smiled. King Qi was busy with the army these days. Although he didn't get into a rage, he always had a gloomy face, which made people tremble when they saw him. It is well known that His Royal Highness respects the supervisors. As long as the supervisors are safe, King Qi will be happy and their lives will be much better. While the guard sent someone to the commander's account to report, he sent a deputy to lead Su Qing in.
Su Qing walked in the camp and watched with his eyes. Although the Yong army was newly defeated, the great camp set up by King Qi was very strict, and there was no depression in the camp. King Qi was indeed a famous general at that time, and Su Qing praised him in his heart. However, her face was calm and calm. This was the first time she officially visited King Qi after her identity was revealed. She was still uneasy. Although Princess Xian Qi was a disciple of Fengyi Sect, King Qi and Fengyi Sect were not the same. Harmony, she is well aware of this. Although King Qi did not treat her differently because of the supervisor, Su Qing was still uneasy.
Walking into the big tent, Su Qing's originally uneasy mind finally calmed down. Seeing King Qi who was standing in the tent and looking at him with a smile, Su Qing felt relieved for some reason, and stepped forward and bowed: "I will see you at the end. Your Majesty, Lord Supervisor is safe and sound, this is the letter that your Lord will bring at the end of his life."
Li Xian looked at Su Qing, although his face was calm and smiling, his heart was turbulent. His confidant guards once persuaded him to leave Su Qing idle, or even detain him, so as not to make the court suspicious of him, but Li Xian wanted to He refused without thinking, when did Li Xian need to use other people's life and death to wash his innocence. The existence of Su Qing reminded him of many past events. When he was young, Qin Zheng, who was smart and beautiful, made him devote himself to it for the first time. There was also Wen Ziyan, who was cold and frosty, but he was the only one in Fengyi's family that he respected. Li Xian did not want Su Qing to be unfairly treated. But Li Xian also knew that his situation was not much better. What he did in the past was enough for Li Zhi to put himself in prison without any excuses. If he really had to protect Su Qing, the damage to him was definitely not small.
Fortunately, in addition to himself, there is Jiang Zhe in Zezhou Camp. At first, Li Xian was a little worried when he knew about Su Qing. Jiang Zhe seemed to hate Fengyimen, Su Qing was Wen Zi Disciple of Yan is like a direct descendant of Fengyi Sect. Li Xian is not sure whether Jiang Zhe will let Su Qing go, but to his surprise, what he expected is that Jiang Zhe kept Su Qing. Qing, this made Li Xian more respect and trust in Jiang Zhe. Of course, for Li Xian, the prince of the clan, if Jiang Zhe's decision is accepted by the imperial court, it will be an obvious message that the imperial court will no longer hold the people associated with Fengyi Sect accountable, which will make many hearts feel An, although I don't know how Li Zhi will decide, but Li Xian can feel the meaning of it, and he also believes that Li Zhi will make a wise decision.
Hiding what was in his heart, Li Xian took the letter from Su Qing's hand, saying it was a letter, but it was actually a white wax pill the size of a longan. Li Xian picked up a tissue paper from the handsome case and wrapped the wax pill in tissue paper. Hold on, then pick up a paper-cutting knife placed on the desk and skillfully swipe the surface of the wax pellet. After the wax pellet was cut open, a residual green liquid seeped inside, and soon penetrated the tissue paper. Li Xian took out a small piece of it. After a circle of honey-colored wax pills, he wiped off the green liquid on it with tissue paper, and then crushed the honey-colored wax pills through the tissue paper, and took out a piece of silk as thin as a cicada's wings. The green liquid stuck on his hands. Su Qing could see that, with doubts in his eyes, he couldn't help asking: "His Royal Highness, what's going on?"
Li Xian didn't lift his head and said, "This was designed by the Marquis of Chu Xiang. There are two layers of wax pills inside and outside, and the middle is full of venom. If someone who doesn't know it directly crushes it with his hands, he can't help being invaded by the venom, and the inside will also be soaked. The letter paper, the Marquis of Chu Xiang is a cautious person, presumably this letter is very important, he is worried that someone will take the letter in the middle."
Su Qing's heart froze, Chu Xianghou is really powerful, and I am afraid that it is tempting to let him send this letter. If he has the heart to spy on the secret, then he must have died of poisoning, but Su Qing is not dissatisfied, and his teacher heard Ziyan, To be able to be given a heavy responsibility by Jiang Zhe, this kind of trust is already rare. Su Qing will only admire Jiang Zhe's methods, but will not give birth to resentment.
Li Xian looked at the dense handwriting on the thin silk, frowned for a while, and thought for a while. After a while, he shook his head gently, sighed, and put the thin silk on the handsome case. In fact, Li Xian did not lose the battle this time. He didn't take it to heart. Since he started fighting in the army, he didn't know how many times he lost. He also dealt with more tragic defeats than this. So after the defeat, he was busy reorganizing his soldiers and preparing to fight again. He didn't expect Jiang Zhe to be more than he thought. He went deeper and farther. It was obviously a defeat, but he thought of a strategy to take advantage of the defeat. The photo in this letter made Li Xian feel a chill in his heart. It is no wonder that the second brother was able to win the throne. Li Xian was really convinced at this moment.
He looked at Su Qing who was waiting for his order with a cold expression, and smiled: "General Su, you have a day off, go to see the Marquis of Chu Xiang tomorrow, lead him back to the Central Army, and tell him that I will do what he asks me to do. ."
Su Qing was at a loss, but she had been in the army for many years, so she naturally knew what it meant to act on orders, so she complied. Nothing happened all night, of course Su Qing didn't know that King Qi Babaili hurriedly handed over a memorial that night.
The next day, Su Qing went alone. According to her idea, it was better to bring more than a thousand cavalry and go to pick up Jiang Zhe. However, King Qi said that the secret agents of the Northern Han Army had already retreated, and this place was already under the control of the Yong Army. There is no need to be so troublesome, and Jiang Zhe is also protected by tiger guards, so he is afraid that Jiang Zhe will be reluctant. Su Qing naturally wouldn't have any objections. She had tried tricks with Xiao Shunzi. It was certain that Xiao Shunzi's martial arts should be on par with Duan Lingxiao. Even if there were assassins left in the Northern Han Dynasty, could it be higher than Duan Lingxiao? Su Qing was not worried either, but for the sake of safety, Su Qing was cautious along the way and returned to Jiang Zhe's hiding place after a few circles.
She greeted the guard Hu Ji who was on guard outside. She walked into Jiang Zhe's residence and saw a square table and two wooden chairs in the courtyard. Jiang Zhezheng and Ji Xuan were playing chess there. Although the medicine was insufficient, However, Ji Xuan's body was gradually improving. He likes to play chess by nature, and he used to drag Zhao Liang to play chess with him when he was seriously ill, but now he can't help it. In particular, Jiang Zhe's chess skills are not average. It is often Ji Xuan who allows his four sons to kill Jiang Zhe completely. Since he can't resist by force, Ji Xuan prefers to attack this younger generation he dislikes under the chessboard. , but Jiang Zhe was too embarrassed to refuse, so he could only stare at the chessboard with a bitter face.
After throwing the pawn and admitting defeat, I looked at Ji Xuan's smug old face, and mumbled a few words reluctantly, but he gave him a cold look, and I immediately started to clean up the pawns with a smile, but to be honest, I wasn't annoyed in my heart. Although this old man has a weird temper and often embarrassed me, after the initial anger, I now like this feeling. For a long time, the people around me have either respected me like a god or feared me like a snake and scorpion. A few close people love me and respect me, but there is only one friend who treats me like an ordinary person. Although this old man is always showing his face, I think he is amiable and approachable, and although he does not like me, he does not have any strong hostility. Otherwise, Xiao Shunzi will not allow him to stay with me. The old man was a good friend, so I was willing to be bullied by him.
When Su Qing walked into the courtyard, what she saw was such a scene, she couldn't help laughing secretly, and went forward to report: "My lord, the last general has already seen the marshal, and the lord said that he should return to the camp as soon as possible, and said that everything is in accordance with the Do it according to your master's plan."
I smiled slightly and said, "Mr. Ji, please ask your nephew to help you pack your bags. We'll be on our way after lunch."
Ji Xuan shook his hand, the hand that was picking up the chess piece shook, a chess piece fell on the chessboard, and with a soft sound, his expression became annoyed, and said, "Old man obeys."
I knew he was unhappy, but I couldn't say anything to him at this time. I gave Zhao Liang a wink to the waiter, and he stepped forward to help Ji Xuan down, and I smiled, "Xiao Shunzi, go and tidy up. When packing, remember to bring Mr. Ji Xuan's single volume with you, but the old man promised to lend it to me for a few days. By the way, go and tell Huyanshou and prepare to leave here."
Xiao Shunzi smiled slightly, waved his hand and summoned two tiger guards to protect me, just after his figure disappeared in the wing, I stood up and said, "Let's go, go for a walk by the lake, this is It's a really good place, but it's a pity that I won't have the opportunity to come again in the future."
A tiger guard said loudly: "Sir, it's better to be careful when Mr. Li is not here."
I said impatiently: "There are no enemies here. What are you worried about? Can't you protect me, General Su, you have worked hard all the way, go down and rest first."
For some reason, Su Qing always felt a sense of unease in her heart. She subconsciously refused: "Sir, it is better to let the last commander attend." As soon as she said this, she clearly saw the coldness in Jiang Zhe's eyes. Mang flashed, revealing a rather interesting look.
When I looked at Su Qing, I couldn't help but wonder if she had guessed something, but it was not appropriate to have her by my side, so I still refused: "No need, General Su, let's go down to rest first." Su Qing saw that I used it in my words. The tone of the command had to be ordered to retreat.
I walked to the hot spring lake and looked at the bottom of the lake, like a clear and clean jasper lake. In this remote rural area, there is a lake of hot springs gathering clear water, creating this Taoyuan resort, which is really shocking. After the defeat, I can take refuge here. This is probably a gift from God. The more I think about it, the more I love this place where I have lived for several days. I leaned down and stretched out my hand to gently touch the warm lake. My figure was smashed to pieces, and I couldn't help but whisper: "Biquan gushing out half the temperature of the lake, I want to wash the dust of the world." I just uttered a few sentences, but I heard someone behind me say: "It's so poetic, I heard the poem of the Houxiang of Chu is the best. In the world, when I see it today, it really lives up to its reputation, such a beautiful time, Lord Jiang should have no regrets even if he died here!"
I smiled slightly and said to myself, "You're finally here." Knowing that the man wouldn't do it right away, I stood up and turned around, only to see that the two tiger guards who were following me were standing still. , and behind them, a mighty man in the armor of a tiger guard, but with a very unfamiliar appearance, stood with his hands behind his back. It turned out that it was Duan Lingxiao, the eldest son of Duan, who was here in person, and Zhe never greeted him from afar, so it’s really rude.” At this time, a figure flashed in the distance, and the guards who realized that I was in danger were rushing over, and a blue figure was the most beautiful. Quick, he was twenty feet away in an instant. Just as he was about to move forward, Duan Lingxiao said sharply, "If anyone dares to cross this line, I will kill the Marquis of Chu Xiang immediately." A force of energy burst out of the body, and drew a horizontal line on the ground fifteen feet away. Xiao Shunzi stopped outside the line, his eyes showing icy murderous intent, but he never crossed the line. At this time, Huyanshou and Su Qing had also arrived, and they both looked anxious and panicked when they landed behind the horizontal line.
However, I was calm, smiled and said, "I have heard for a long time that the first disciple of the Demon Sect has an extraordinary bearing. The last time the eldest son killed many of my soldiers in Dayong, Zhe has been engraved in my heart. Today, the eldest son must have come to take Jiang Zhe's life. "
Duan Lingxiao was not in a hurry at the moment. He had long known that no matter what, as long as he killed Jiang Zhe, he would surely startle everyone, so he was not in a hurry to get out. With his martial arts, as long as he didn't fight recklessly, and he didn't fall into battle, there would be others outside. It is not difficult for him to get away from his fellow juniors and juniors, and he is only ten feet away from Jiang Zhe, while the evil shadow with the highest martial arts is fifteen feet away from him. Such a distance means that the master himself shot, don't do it. He wanted to stop himself from killing this weak scholar, so he didn't rush to start. After all, he was also somewhat curious about this Jiang Zhe.
I saw that he didn't take action for a while, but I felt a little relieved. If there was a fight for a while, I wouldn't have the opportunity to speak so calmly. Looking at the two guards who were standing at the side, they both had angry expressions on their faces. He was sweating profusely, but he couldn't move, so he asked, "Eldest Young Master Duan, why didn't your Excellency kill these two guards? Although Zhe was grateful, he felt a little strange."
Duan Lingxiao said with a smile: "I'm not being merciful, but I just heard that the Chu Xianghou is good at using poison, and in the past, he used this to control the people of Fengyi Sect, and I wanted to have a talk with the Hou Ye, so I kept these two people. I hope that the Duke of Chu Xiang can restrain himself and dare not use poison without authorization, so as not to harm the lives of these two people."
My eyes flashed, and I said, "Did Young Master Duan forget that they are all my bodyguards, and they stayed by my side to protect my safety. I killed them all together, and no one can think of it. Blame me, even they themselves, Jiuquan will think so too."
The eyes of the two guards flashed a warm light, and they seemed to agree with my words. Although Duan Lingxiao couldn't see their expressions, just based on the changes in their breathing, he already knew that these two guards were really brave and loyal. However, he did not worry at all, and said, "If someone else would do this, but Duan feels that with the temperament of Lord Jiang, he is naturally heartless and unrighteous to the enemy, but he is kind and soft-hearted to his own people. This is what Duan has read over and over again. The conclusion obtained after the intelligence related to Lord Hou, and if not so, Yu Fei may not be able to escape from Lord Hou’s subordinates. If it is said that Lord Hou will disregard the lives of these two people and secretly poison, Duan Never believe it."
I was at a loss for words, although he said that the incident of Qiu Yufei was just a coincidence, but thinking about it carefully, I really don't like to be poisonous to the people around me, not to mention anything else, if I hadn't arranged it in advance, I would have encountered such a situation today. , I can use poison, but it is definitely difficult to do it. After all, these two guards are old friends who followed me when they were in Hanyuan. This time I put them in danger again, and I am already uneasy.
Seeing that my expression changed, Duan Lingxiao knew that I was talking about my key point, so he said calmly: "Jianghou Ye assisted His Royal Highness King Yong to ascend to the throne, and then abandoned his power and lived in seclusion in the East China Sea. After all, the Lord can't give up the kindness and righteousness of the monarch and his ministers, and abandon his seclusion life to help the King of Qi attack me in Northern Han. Although I deeply admire Mr.'s talent, I can only see each other in life and death. Come up with a plan, Duan can let Mr.
I sighed lightly and said, "The glory, wealth, and wealth are only fleeting, but Jiang's life is the most greedy for life and death. If Dayong can't rule the world, Jiang's life will not be able to live and work in peace and contentment, I can only appreciate the kindness of Duan eldest son. But the eldest son pretended to say this, do you want to weaken the fighting spirit of all my subordinates, in fact, the eldest son doesn't have to worry about it."
Duan Lingxiao sighed and said, "Master Hou is overthinking it, Duan just can't bear the sadness of his fourth brother. Before he went to the East China Sea, he passed a letter to me and talked about his relationship with Master Hou, although he was going to kill Master Hou that day. But I admire the Lord Hou very much. I know that Yu Feifei is indifferent and has few friends in his life, so I can't bear to hurt the Lord Hou's life. The protection of the army is the only opportunity for our army to weaken your army. Originally, if the Hou Ye agreed to go into seclusion, Duan wanted to invite the Hou Ye to Jinyang to recuperate, but unfortunately my good intentions were not accepted by the Hou Ye, and now it can only be a matter of life and death See you."
Instead of being angry, I laughed. If I had just been greedy for life and feared death and promised to go into seclusion, Ling Xiao would have asked me to follow him to Jinyang, and even swore in the name of the sect master of the Demon Sect that he would not hurt my life, but I am a dignified man. Dayong Superintendent, Concubine Commander, and Chu Xianghou were really threatened and escorted to the capital of Northern Han. What face would I have to see Princess Changle and the Emperor? This Demon Sect is really a big tone. Unfortunately, although I, Jiang Zhe, are greedy for life and fear of death, I am not a person who lives and steals my life. I could risk my life to drink the wine of King Yong, how can I let myself fall into life and death today. In a human situation, even if I didn't set a trap in advance, and waited for Duan Lingxiao to surrender, I would never be willing to be captured.
I returned to my cold and ruthless state of mind, and said, "Eldest Young Master Duan, have you ever thought about why Su Qing came to respond alone?"
Duan Lingxiao's heart froze, the young man's thin body suddenly exuded infinite majesty and murderous aura, which made people look up to everyone. Bar?"
I shook my head and said, "That's not the case, Zhe is the most used to falling into the hole in his life, so he can't help but treat the belly of a gentleman with a villain's heart, and he is also proud of his philosophical heart. It is expected that your army will take the opportunity to assassinate the next. , I expected it to be the eldest son of Duan who was next to be assassinated. Xiao Tong’s martial arts was not as good as Xiao Shunzi’s. He was also the one who was in charge of the scouts in the army and could not easily take risks, so it must be the eldest son who shot, but the vastness of the world, we concealed it. It is difficult to find the place. If I were the eldest son, I would also keep an eye on our army camp, because I must get in touch with the Chinese army. So I sent Su Qing back to report. First, your Excellency recognized Su Qing, and second, there was a paragraph. Invincible is in Anze, it should be possible to know that Su Qing is by my side, and as expected, the eldest son followed Su Qing here. I ordered Huwei Guard to focus on the periphery. If you want to succeed in assassinating, you must wait for me There were the fewest guards around, so I sent Xiao Shunzi away and only brought two guards to the lake. Sure enough, Your Excellency did not expect me. After changing into the clothes of the guards around me, I went to the lake to try to assassinate him. Do you know whether the guards restrained by Your Excellency are alive or dead?"
Duan Lingxiao felt a chill in his heart, what he had done for the past few days, this Jiang Zhe was as if he had seen it, he focused his attention again, still unaware that there was someone within two feet of him, he thought to himself, and said: "Of course it is. He died, but Hu Weiwei is really powerful, I personally took action, and there was still one person who almost shouted, but in order to avoid disturbing everyone, I only killed three people.
I really felt a pain in my heart. Although I knew that there would be sacrifices, it still made me feel guilty. I couldn't help but hide my face and said, "Forget it, let's take action."