At the foot of Tiandu Peak, when Shi Ling, the leader of the wolf cavalry, walked into the big tent of the Zhen family's camp, Zhen Huaqing, the Marquis of Changxin, did not look good.

"Master Hou, the young man's mood has stabilized." Shi Ling stepped forward and said softly: "The subordinate said that the Hou Ye had been worried all the time, and he just wanted to see him, but he didn't speak. ”

Changxin Hou groaned slightly, and finally said, "What happened, how could Jiang'er suddenly become like this?" ”

"I also asked the young man, but the young man didn't speak at all." Shi Ling said: "The explanation of the Yuwen family is that the Hou Ye knows that it is that the young prince stayed in the Lanyue Pavilion all night, and the next morning not only suffered from the cold disease in his eyes, but also suffered a great fright, probably having a nightmare. ”

"The old man has been thinking, if it is really done by the Yuwen family, what is the purpose?" Changxin Hou stroked his beard: "How could the Yuwen family do this to Jiang'er at such a time?" ”

Shi Ling nodded and said: "What the Hou Ye said is extremely true, his subordinates think that sacrificing the mountain is a big deal, and the young son is not the first time to be Fengganfu, over the years, the Xiling family has gotten along quite harmoniously, and the Yuwen family has no reason to do such a thing to the young prince at this time." And if it was really done by someone from the Yuwen family, it would be impossible for the young man to keep his mouth shut and not say a word. ”

"Nonsense." Chang Xinhou sneered: "What kind of nightmare can make a person frightened like this? Even if it's really a nightmare, why do you have a nightmare when you get to Fenggan Mansion? ”

Shi Ling leaned in and whispered: "Master Hou, do you suspect that the young son has become like this and has something to do with the Yuwen family?" ”

"What is possible?"

"Unless someone lets the young boy get damp, and then he is invaded by the night wind." Shi Ling said: "But the guards around the young prince are very sure that the young man has been in the room that night and has not left half a step. The subordinates felt that those people should not dare to lie, so they ..... It's really weird. ”

"yes." Chang Xinhou frowned: "What went wrong here?" ”

"The doctor we brought has taken a closer look, and the young man is suffering from a severe cold." Shi Ling said softly: "Just now my subordinates asked the doctor alone, according to him, the climate in Xiling is not so cold now, if the young son has been staying in the Lanyue Pavilion that night, it is impossible to suffer from the cold, he estimates that the young son may suffer from severe cold." ”

Chang Xinhou shook his head and said: "When he saw me these few times, he looked extremely frightened, his whole body trembled, and the old man didn't know what was going on. I have always doted on him, and rarely beat and scolded him, and although he was quite afraid of me, he should not be afraid of being like this. ”

"Master Hou, wait until the mountain sacrifice is over, and then investigate this matter in detail. The young boy has not recovered for the time being, maybe after some time, he will recover from his illness, and he will be able to tell the Hou Ye in detail what happened. Shi Ling said: "The doctor said that the young son's cold illness can be completely recovered after a period of recuperation, and the Hou Ye doesn't have to worry too much." ”

Chang Xinhou was silent for a moment, and said with a wry smile: "Could it be that Jiang'er really saw a ghost?" ”

"Master Hou, do you want to go over and see the young man?" Shi Ling asked.

Chang Xinhou frowned and said, "What is Fan Qingzong going to do?" In previous years, he was earlier than us, and he had never delayed it as much as this time. Gently stroking his beard, thoughtfully, a faint sense of uneasiness rose to his heart.

At this moment, I suddenly heard a voice outside: "Is Zhen Shibo still resting?" ”

Chang Xinhou nodded and said, "I hope so." He asked, "The Fan family hasn't arrived yet?" ”

"It should still be on the way." Shi Ling said: "When they first entered Haihai, it was still early before dawn, and they will not delay the sacrifice of the mountain if they arrive before dawn tomorrow." ”

Changxinhou smiled: "Your father is this age, and he still drinks in the middle of the night, and he doesn't know how to take care of himself." He got up, got out of the tent, glanced at the Yuwen camp, and said, "It's too late, forget it tonight, and wait for the old man to invite him tomorrow." ”

Yuwen Chengling said softly: "Shibo, it's actually .....!" "I was a little embarrassed, and I wanted to stop talking.

Changxin Hou glanced at Shi Ling, Shi Ling opened the tent door in the past, only to see Yuwen Chengling standing outside the tent, and arched his hand: "It turned out to be the young son, the Hou Ye is about to rest, I don't know what the young son has to do?" ”

"My father couldn't sleep, so he prepared some wine and food, and he felt very bored drinking alone, so he asked the juniors to come over to see if Zhen Shibo had rested." Yuwen Chengling was polite and said with a smile: "My father said that if Zhen Shibo can't sleep for a while, please go over and drink a few cups together." ”

Chang Xinhou smiled: "His temper, we were all afraid of him back then. Now that he's older, he should give me a little face. With his hands behind his back, he asked, "Yes, why did he lose his temper?" ”

Yuwen Chengling hesitated for a moment before lowering his voice and said, "Fan Shibo has not arrived for a long time, and his father said that he doesn't take the mountain sacrifice to heart, so he is annoyed. We persuaded him that Fan Shibo might have been delayed on the way, Fan Shibo had never been absent from the mountain sacrifice ceremony, and he would definitely not be this time, although he didn't say anything, but his anger was not gone. ”

"What's going on?" Chang Xinhou sensed that something was wrong and asked, "Did your father lose his temper?" ”

Yuwen Chengling smiled bitterly: "Shibo is worthy of being his father's old brother, you know that he has a hot temper, and he really lost his temper just now, so that we don't dare to approach." When he asked me to come over, I was still angry, and I ..... I'm just afraid that I won't be able to move Shibo, and I will have to be trained again when I go back. Shibo, see if you can go over and persuade him to say a few words, he is old, if he has always had anger in his heart, it will not be good for his body. ”

Changxin Hou said: "That old thing is very stubborn, if you don't lose your breath tonight, you won't sleep this night." Seeing Shi Ling's glance, Chang Xinhou hesitated for a moment before saying, "Shi Ling, you can go with me." ”

Shi Ling said yes.

"That's what it was." Chang Xinhou smiled: "I knew that he was so angry, and we should have come later." He raised his hand and said, "Let's go over and have a look." ”

"Master Hou, it's getting late, do you want to go over tomorrow?" Shi Ling was on the side.

Old Marquis Yuwen glanced up and said, "Come here when you come, what else do you want to bring people for?" Are you afraid that I will harm you? ”

Changxin Hou was stunned for a moment, and then smiled: "Where did the old brother say this." I know that your White Tiger Battalion is well-trained, and the trained soldiers are all elite soldiers, and Shi Ling is the commander of the wolf cavalry, so I asked him to come over and ask your Yuan Commander for advice and learn some training methods. ”

When he arrived at the Yuwen tent, Changxin Hou saw that there were tiger cavalry elite guards all around, with bright armor, he glanced back at Shi Ling, saw Shi Ling's grim expression, hesitated for a moment, and still took Shi Ling into the big tent together.

In the big tent, the old Marquis of Yuwen was sitting on the side of the case, and there was Yuwen Chengchao standing on the side, Yuwen Chengchao saw Changxinhou coming in, and immediately bowed his hand, Changxinhou had already smiled and said: "Brother, I heard that you are in a bad mood, I will come and drink two glasses with you." ”

Shi Ling looked at Yuwen Chengchao and did not move his footsteps, Yuwen Chengchao saw this, and bowed his hand to Changxin Hou, and then he stepped out of the tent, and Shi Ling also arched his hand and followed out of the tent.

"You, the Commander of History, are careful everywhere." The old Marquis Yuwen said: "I am loyal to you." ”

"If we drink, we don't want anyone else." The old marquis of Yuwen pulled his face: "Yuan Shangyu stayed in the White Tiger Camp, and he didn't come over this time." ”

"Oh?" Changxin Hou was stunned, turned back to Shi Ling and said, "Then you and Cheng Chao will go to wait outside the tent." ”

At that time, you always said that you were going to do the next big thing. Old Marquis Yuwen sighed lightly: "Decades have passed in the blink of an eye, we are all old, and we don't seem to have done anything big." ”

"At least we have kept the inheritance left by our ancestors." Changxin Hou said: "We are still alive, and Xiling is still in our hands. ”

Changxin Hou reached out and picked up the wine jug, poured wine for the old Marquis of Yuwen, and sighed: "We haven't drunk together for some years. Do you remember, when I was young, I often came to Fenggan Province to go up the mountain to hunt together, and the prey we hunted, built a bonfire, and barbecued meat at the bottom of the mountain, and it was really pleasant to eat wine and drink meat at that time. ”

"I still remember

"If the Vedas make a comeback, even if the entire Xiling joins forces, they will not be the opponents of the Vedas." The old Marquis of Yuwen sighed: "The Wutuo people regard Xiling as fat, and the Tang Dynasty has never given up on Xiling. He picked up the wine cup and said softly, "Maybe such a day will soon come to an end." ”

Marquis Changxin looked at the old Marquis of Yuwen and asked: "I have also been thinking about this matter for a long time, old brother, we naturally can't sit still, this time I came to worship the mountain, I just wanted to discuss with you what to do next." ”

Old Marquis Yuwen said: "Do you know that the White Wolf King was stabbed, and now the White Wolf Department is in turmoil, once Brother Nalu Sheng takes power, the next step will be to point the blade at Xiling, where do we go at that time?" ”

"You know, for many years, whatever you do, I have followed you." Changxin Hou said: "We can be as stable as Mount Tai in Xiling, in the final analysis, it is the three of us working together, and the whole Xiling is also the only one who is looking forward." ”

"Then do you want to fight, or do you want to make peace?"

"As I said, you're the only one." Changxin Hou said solemnly: "No matter what decision you make, the Zhen family will stand with the Yuwen family. ”

"What do you do?"

"It's nothing more than war and two ways." Changxin Hou said.

"Recruiting soldiers, fortifying cities, building fortifications, hoarding money and food, forging weapons and armor, these are all things that cost money, and a large sum of silver." Old Marquis Yuwen looked at Marquis Changxin: "If it is really possible, it doesn't matter if we go bankrupt, but what if the imperial court does not allow it?" You and I both know that the imperial court has never relaxed its vigilance against us in the past ten years, Xiling has the eyes and ears of the imperial court, and there is no will of the imperial court. ”

Changxin Hou said: "We will naturally ask the court for an order in advance, and tell the court that the Wutuo people are ready to move, and Xiling must prepare for war as soon as possible, if the court agrees, everything will naturally be fine, if we suspect that we have the heart of rebellion and refuse Xiling to prepare for war, then .....!" With a sneer, the rest of the words did not continue.

Old Marquis Yuwen smiled slightly and said, "If it's a battle, what should I do?" If so, what then? ”

"If you fight, start hoarding money, food, and equipment now, and recruit soldiers for training." Changxin Hou said: "In addition, recruiting people and strengthening the defense of Kunlun Pass, although it can't block the iron hooves of the Vedas after all, it can block it for a while." In addition, the cities of our three counties have to be reinstated by the people, the Vedas are good at field warfare, but they are not good at attacking cities, they fight over, we are strong and clear, stick to the city, as long as the city is strong and there is enough food, it is not easy for them to break through the city. The Wutuo people entered the customs, and the Tang army wanted to keep Xiling, so they would inevitably send reinforcements, but we didn't have to fight to the death with the Wutuo people, as long as we waited for the Tang army to come to help. ”

"If the court is against it, do you mean that we are going to sue for peace with the Vedas?" Old Marquis Yuwen asked.

Changxin Hou said: "If Datang sees us as a rebel and lets us sit back and wait, there is no need for us to continue to be loyal to Datang." His expression was grim: "Xiling is in our hands, and we can only decide who we want to hand it over." Seeing that the old Marquis of Yuwen was staring at his eyes, he smiled and said, "Of course, I said that how to decide, everything is subject to the orders of the old brother." ”

Old Marquis Yuwen sighed: "It seems that you really have the heart of rebellion!" ”