Turning the hand back to more than a year ago, we seem to have forgotten a person's existence, which is Song Hai. At the beginning, this young hunter left the town where he had lived for more than twenty years with the ambition in his heart and went to the north to join the army, but he was unwilling to be just a hunter forever.

On a late autumn morning, the fog is so thick that the eye can see less than a few feet away. The vanguard army of Makime Province preferred to use the cover of the fog to cross the river and rush to the position post. Over time, the kingdom began to govern its people in the same way. Here is the forefront of the entire front, Hasui. The two countries have been at a stalemate here for more than half a year.

"Captain Song, the general asked you to go to the big tent." The words of the sergeant beside him did not take Song Hai's eyes off the other side of the river, he watched closely ahead, carefully listening to the river for irregular sounds.

"Please return to the general, I will go to the big tent after I finish today's mission." Song Haitou said without replying.

"The general orders you to abandon the mission and rush to the big tent immediately." The sergeant who delivered the message reiterated. Song Hai still didn't take his eyes off the other side of the river, he just said "I know". The current Song Hai is no longer the Song Hai he once was, he is a real "hunter" now, he will not let go lightly when he sees the prey, this time is an exception.

"Lead the horse." Song Hai instructed the accompanying soldiers.

A year ago, Song Hai, occupation: Yuanhe Town Orion; A year later, Song Hai, occupation: guerrilla captain. In a year's time, the change of identity made him no longer feel inferior when he spoke to others, and even sometimes a little proud. Although the official position of the guerrilla captain is only seven grades, compared to the court officials, Song Hai is only a low-level officer, a nameless junior, but for the former hunter, what else does he need to hope for!

Leap and whip up. The front-line post was only a few miles away from the Great Tent, and it was only a few moments away.

"Song Hai meets the general." Song Hai took a step forward and knelt down on one knee.

"Song Hai, get up!" The general Qiu Sheng helped him up with one hand.

"The general is in a hurry to summon me, is there a new plan?" Song Hai asked.

Qiu Sheng paused and said, "No. Then he said: "Song Hai, you saved my life, and I will never forget it in this life." ”

"It's my duty to protect the General." Song Hai replied with a straight look. Having said that, Song Hai knew in his heart that he could be where he is today because he saved Qiu Sheng's life in the first place.

"Do you know why I became a general?"

"I've heard the general say that by the grace of the emperor, the queen mother and the regent."

"Not bad. Before I was promoted to the rank of general, although I was one of the five tiger generals, I was not the most suitable in terms of qualifications and military exploits. But in the end, it's me, do you know why? Song Hai. ”

"I don't know."

"Because the Eastern Tiger Army under my command was created by the regent, and I was also promoted by him to be the general of the Eastern Tiger Army."

I see, the general is the regent's man. Song Hai couldn't help but feel strange when he thought of this, what did the general hurriedly summon him for, could it be that he listened to him talk about these adult pasts. Song Hai muttered, but there was a sense of uneasiness in his heart, things were not so simple.

"General, is there anything wrong?" Song Hai didn't want to speculate any further, so he chose the most direct way to find the answer, that is, to ask.

"You're no longer the hunter you were when you first went to war, Song Hai. You've grown a lot with me for more than a year. Qiu Sheng said with a smile.

"General Xie cultivates."

"Look at this." Qiu Sheng patted Song Hai on the shoulder and said.

Qiu Sheng held a holy decree in his hand. After joining the army, Song Hai became Qiu Sheng's personal guard, passing books and sending letters for him, and he could also read and hyphenate words over time. The words on the decree were generally used, and he seemed effortless.

Fengtian carrier, the emperor's edict said: the general who protects the country, the general of the Eastern Tiger Army to pacify the general, and the enemy wins. ・・・・・・ canonized the general of the protector of the country, the general of the Eastern Tiger Army, Qiu Sheng was the pavilion longevity, the bounty was 1,000 taels, the food was 10,000 households, and the royal red tiger sword was given, and he was ordered to go to Beijing on the same day to discuss the country. Chin this.

This is a holy decree to wait for Qiu Sheng, after Song Hai saw it, his face was swept away, and he kept saying hello to Qiu Sheng. It's strange that Qiu Sheng didn't have a trace of joy, but said coldly: "Who doesn't want to pay homage to the prime minister, but my Tingshou is a little early!" ”

Early? Song Hai was puzzled, why did the general say this. Could a knighthood also be a bad thing?

"Song Hai, do you know why this Northern Expedition is the case?" Qiu Sheng asked again.

"Restore the homeland and reorganize the mountains and rivers." Song Hai said it sonorously and forcefully, as if every word could be smashed into a hole when it fell to the ground. What he said was right and must be right, because these eight words were the slogans publicly propagated by the Northern Expedition Imperial Court.

"Absolutely. However, you have to know the deeper reasons. Before the Northern Expedition, there had been a fierce debate between the DPRK and China over whether to send troops. Most of the civil officials led by Wu Yafu resolutely resisted, they felt that the Northern Expedition was less than ten years away from the last time, and the national strength could not be restored. ”

"What Prime Minister Wu said is reasonable." Song Hai agreed.

"However, the regent and the empress dowager strongly advocated the Northern Expedition, and the restoration of the homeland was the goal, but ・・・・・・" Qiu Sheng walked to Song Hai's side and said: "To establish authority in the court and control the military power is the greater purpose." I am the general of the protector of the country, which is a move by the regent and the queen mother. Song Hai held his breath and quietly listened to Qiu Sheng's sentence by sentence, he smelled a strong smell of conspiracy from Qiu Sheng's account, a huge conspiracy may not be imagined by a small low-ranking officer like him.

"For more than a year, I led the army to fight in the north, although there were victories and defeats against each other, but the loss of the regained foot, and the loss of troops, far from the original purpose, the DPRK and China have long criticized this. At this time, he did not issue an edict to reprimand, but rewarded me and summoned me back to Beijing, just because I was afraid that I would support the army and respect myself. After Qiu Sheng finished speaking, he paced back and forth in the big tent, and then said: "Someone once sued me, the officialdom is dark and sinister everywhere. When I returned to Beijing this time, I was stripped of my military power, and it was difficult to save my life. The more Song Hai listened, the more worried he was about Qiu Sheng, what if he was unlucky.

"General, Song Hai will accompany you back to Beijing and let me protect you." Song Hai knelt down again, and in order to repay the kindness of Qiu Sheng, he spared his life.

"If it's what I expected, you won't be able to protect me." Hearing Qiu Sheng say this, Song Hai felt that his strength was weak. "There's something you can help me with, though."

"Listen to the general."

"Song Hai listens to orders."

Song Hai immediately became stern, knelt down, and shouted, "In." ”

"I will make you a ranger general, with full authority over the Five Tiger Guerrilla Army."