Emperor Cheng of Zhou was in August of the third year, and at the end of summer.

The imperial capital of Sanfu, the city of broken sun.

The night was already very deep, like a blue-black gem, shining with a strange light.

Looking down from the city lord's mansion rising from the clouds, the whole city was like a giant lying on its back, sleeping soundly in the night, and the streets and alleys in the distance were faintly lit.

The night breeze blew a little cool on his face, and the man in armor looked down from the pavilion, and the wind pulled his crimson coat slowly fluttering in the air.

Footsteps came from the bottom up, and men in broad robes and bands climbed the stairs and bowed behind the men in armor.

"They say that the first emperor was like this in his last days, and he liked to look out here and see his own city."

The man in the armor said casually, as if he had sensed the comer behind him.

"It is said to be the highest place in the entire Tianyuan City, it is said to be the Taiqing Pavilion, I think it is not so much a pavilion, in fact, it is like a tower, this time I went where we went, to see the scenery of the imperial capital."

The man in the wide robe behind the burly middle-aged man in armor replied casually.

"It must be quiet, standing on such a high place."

"How can it be quiet?" A chuckle came out of the armoured man's mouth, his smile was gentle, but the laughter was mocking without hesitation, "There is Tianyuan, the center of power in the world, and there is thunder rolling in the silent place. It's a sleeping lion, and when it wakes up, it's still going to eat people. ”

"The general is also a lion-like figure!"

"Hahaha, do you mean I can eat people too?"

The man with wide sleeves also smiled silently and bowed down, "Who is not a cannibal in this world?" I said that the general is a lion, and that is the power of the general is like a lion! ”

The man in armor patted the railing in front of him, his tone soothing.

"Qi Yue, you are not right, I went to Tianyuan this time to eat people, and my lion has already woken up!"

In the casual tone, there is endless killing intent.

"Late at night, what's the matter?"

"It's not a big deal, don't dare to disturb the general when he is out of his mind, this rule, Qi Yue knows.

But the scout reported by the cable, and the situation of Tian Yuan was already on the verge of breaking out, and the wind was surging.

I think those magnates in charge of the imperial capital are sick and rushed to the doctor, and the persecuted Empress Dowager and Yuan Taiqi have already released the news and issued an edict to the princes of all parts of the country to go north to Tianyuan to prepare for King Qin. ”

The man in armor turned around, his gaze cold, and his eyes were dark brown and extremely bright, like burning coals.

"Oh, my sister is going to follow the example of Emperor Zhou Xi and issue a golden book and iron scroll to order the princes of the Eastern Continent to lead their armies to Tianyuan, and then let the armies of those princes who went north come to the imperial capital King Qin, and kill her brother, and sacrifice her head to which babbling little emperor?"

"Hmm. I don't think it's impossible, on the contrary, it's already an established fact.

A few days ago, the Empress Dowager and Yuan Taiqi issued a secret decree and sent it to the vassal states, requesting to bring the king of troops to settle in Tianyuan.

For a while, the people in all parts of the Eastern Continent were agitated, and the princes from all walks of life had already begun to sharpen their knives and were ready to come to Tianyuan.

However, the excuse used by the Queen Mother and Yuan Taiqi now is that the general you are ineffective in governing the army, mediocre, tyrannical and wanton, controlling the government and government, and even for a while, you have the name of a thief in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Therefore, the Queen Mother and Yuan Taiqi listened to the will of the people, conformed to the family, and issued an edict to King Qin. ”

The man in armor laughed coldly: "National thief, such a big title, how did I He Jin change from a mighty general to a great Zhou thief who brought disaster to the country and the people in one fell swoop?" What about the people we left in Tianyuan, are they waste? Didn't stabilize the situation at all! ”

"There is no way, the Queen Mother and Yuan Taiqi acted quickly, and the conspiracy has been unannounced, and now it is violently publicized, which catches people off guard, and those of us who stayed in the imperial capital have also lost their sense of proportion in the face of this situation.

Besides, what you said is not bad, General, those people we left behind are not the materials for governing the country, you should have known for a long time, they are just some incompetent people who tend to be inflammatory. ”

The man in armor shook his head: "I know that they are some waste, but after all, they are some people who have followed us for many years, I just don't want to believe that they have wasted to such a point, there is a fire in the backyard, there is no half to deal with it, someone in front of me was instigated to cut off my logistics, and then someone sits and watches me in turmoil, it is all waste, and I will clean it up when I go back this time." ”

"Now the situation is very dangerous for us, please make a decision as soon as possible." The man in the robe prostrates for a long time.

"Qi Yue, what do you say we should do?"

"As long as the general's military flag is replanted at the head of Tianyuan's city, I don't think anyone will dare to mention that the general is a national thief."

The man in the armor did not answer, but turned and looked into the distance.

After a long time, he asked in a low voice, "Qi Yue, we have been trapped in the imperial capital Sanfu for almost four months, right?" ”

"Yes, there is still one month, that is, four months. Four months ago, it was Qi Yue who followed the general and led the remnants of the army to break through the gate of the imperial capital Sanfu, and got a chance to survive. ”

"We have obtained the imperial capital, left the imperial capital, and broken the bags of the princes, but now we can't return to our hometown, we are scolded as national thieves, and we have become trapped beasts in a cage, and our way home has been cut off."

The man in armor sneered, "I've been fighting all my life, and I've been so downset by this move, which makes people laugh at it." ”

"The surprise attack of five thousand thunder horses, the great victory in the bloody battle of Shanhaiguan, if you can have such a brilliant record for future generations, no one will dare to laugh at you.

However, this move was indeed reversed.

With the current situation, it is not of great benefit for us to continue to occupy the land of the Imperial Capital Sanfu.

It is better for us to wave our army north, continue to occupy the imperial capital Tianyuan, hold the emperor in our hands, and then coerce the Son of Heaven to order the princes, although the princes may not have much loyalty to the emperor, but the hostage in our hands is extremely useful, and we can rely on those families in the imperial capital to continue to complete what we have to do.

If we stay here, the armies of the kingdoms will cut us off from Tian Yuan, and we will have to rely on the resources of the Imperial Capital Sanfu to support ourselves, and the replenishment of soldiers has become difficult recently.

The troubles of some families in the land of Sanfu in the imperial capital in the past few months may not be the result of the instigation and incitement of the princes behind them, and if the prince does not come to Tianyuan in person, I am afraid that there will be no hope of returning to his homeland. ”

The man in the wide robe bowed again, "Qi Yue again, the general will make a decision quickly." ”

"My sister, this woman still hates me, right? So it was so easy to be instigated and instigated by Yuan Taiqi. ”

"The general moved the authority of the queen mother, this is naturally something that the queen mother can't bear, I think the queen mother doesn't want to take advantage of the emperor's young age and want a woman to come to the court, so the queen mother is bound to eradicate a national thief like the general."

"But I love her wholeheartedly, even if the army once controlled Tianyuan, I didn't treat her unfairly.

And her husband once put a knife to my neck and forced me to cut off my own arm, what choice do I have?

Should I take care of the courtier's affection and wait for her husband to slash me down with a sword, and then will my sister feel the benevolence of his brother and weep on the day of my death to comfort my soul? ”

The man in the wide robe smiled: "A person like the general should not complain like this." What the world remembers is that the general did not obey the order of the first emperor to remove the leading tiger talisman and divided one side, but they have forgotten that it was the first emperor who forced the general to the edge of the cliff with a knife before he died.

Because the general survived, the world sneered at you, the general, and the current queen mother is no exception. This is the order of your overlord, General. ”

"The world is a fool." The man in armor said coldly. "Yes, Qi Yue thought so."

The man in the wide robe replied respectfully, with a look that was not disguised.

The two smiled at each other, their smiles cold and their eyes warm.

"Is it a pity that the general is finally going to give up this city?" The man in the wide robe waved his hand into the distance, "Where is the Tianyuan of the City of Ten Thousand Cities, if you compare it to a woman, you are the most beautiful woman in the world."

The pavilions here are like clouds, and the beauties are all passing by, if it is said to be a rich township, Wanzhou is nothing more than that, right? But after all, it is not as good as Tianyuan, we are here, but we will eventually leave. ”

"yes, it's a bit of a pity." The man in armor nodded, "But it's hard to get a woman to be by your side for the rest of your life."

Besides, I am a man in armor in this city, not a man in ayara, and I know that every inch of the land in this city has the blood of our sons, and I do not yet regard a land soaked in blood as a woman's chest, and refuse to go, we are gone today, and we will take it back later. ”

He turned around and walked down the steps: "According to your meaning, send orders to the three armies!" I'm ready to report to you! ”

"Order!" The man in the robe received the order.

As soon as he untied his robe, he threw it into the ground without looking at it, and followed in the footsteps of the man in armor. Beneath his broad robe, he was dressed in thin armor of silver sharpened iron fish scales, which shone coldly in the moonlight.

The city is full of people in armor and swords, and they are also sharpening knives.

Dong Zhuo raised his head, and the ink flag swept above Xi Yan's head with the wind on the mountain, like a pure black wave.

Under the pale sky, the 20,000 troops under his command formed eight phalanxes and slowly moved across the plain.

Dong Zhuo was immediately on a hill on the side, looking at the terrain near and far, and the person holding the flag behind him was Zhang Xuan, his own cronies.

Jia Xu tied the long sword that Dong Zhuo had rewarded him to his waist, he was not good at using the sword, but he couldn't refuse the Lord's kindness.

He led his horse to the left to keep guard. He originally had no position, just a strategist under Dong Zhuo, and in Dong Zhuo's eyes, Jia Xu who went with him was his second pair of eyes.

So Jia Xu has been unarmed for sixteen days. He was in charge of the sword order, and the responsibility was heavier, and in the team under the mountain, he replaced Dong Zhuo in the main formation of the Central Army and suppressed the three armies. 

As Zhang Xuan waved the green flag, the left and right armies slowed down, like a huge crane forming their wings together, and the huge and orderly military formation slowly converged into a long belt.

The mixed ranks of light pawns and crossbowmen advanced from the middle army and occupied the front line, and the 20,000-strong Qingzhou army was about to pass through the valley ahead. 

This is the branch of Suohe Mountain, the reckless green mountains surround the valley in this area, our army has been advancing in the valley for sixteen days, except for Dong Zhuo himself, no one knows tomorrow's route.

At this time, Dong Zhuo's hand was on the hilt of the sword, and he was silently looking at the thin clouds at the end of the world.

"General, how many days do we have to reach Tian Yuan City?" Zhang Xuan asked.

"One day."

"One day?"

Jia Xu and Zhang Xuan glanced at each other, both a little surprised.

Dong Zhuo's so-called map is just a painting, so when he got on the horse, he didn't move the marching map again.

The army marched under Dong Zhuo's command, and had long deviated from the route outlined before the expedition, and from the moment they entered Suohe Mountain, they were serpentine day after day in the mountains.

And now just as he was about to leave the mountain, he was already approaching Tian Yuan.

"This valley is called Limei Valley, out of this valley, we have a flat river, only 250 miles left. Tomorrow, the cavalry can be the first to arrive in Tianyuan City, and I hope that we are not too late than the other princes. ”

Dong Zhuo turned around and looked at the army he had brought back from Qingzhou. 

After he secretly left Tian Yuan, he returned to Qingzhou, and he waited for Tian Yuan's news, not to his and Jia Xu's expectations, in just a few months, the situation in Da Zhou changed again and again, and he was finally able to justifiably take Qingzhou's sons to this fertile land.

Yuan Taiqi sent an urgent letter from Kuaima in the first half of the month, only four words were written on it, and the time had come.

He reorganized his army overnight and led his army to Tianyuan City.

"It's not on the map." Zhang Xuan said.

He has followed Dong Zhuo for a long time, and he has learned to read a map. 

"It's the first time I've come to the Tianyuan Sect scouts here to scout for half a month. The scout disguised as a bandit, here to investigate carefully, the bandit is a life that depends on the mountain to eat the mountain, where is there anyone who does not recognize the way? ”

This sentence made both of them laugh, but Jia Xu's heart moved, it turned out that the general had already prepared when he first came to Tianyuan.

Dong Zhuo turned his head to look at the two of them, smiling rather than smiling, "The terrain of eight hundred miles around here, no one knows better than me. ”

"Jia Xu passed my order, the front army gave up the excess baggage and marched at full speed! The rear army packed up their baggage and followed slowly. Dong Zhuo ordered, "The cavalry will feed the horses tonight, gallop all the way tomorrow, and be sure to approach Tianyuan and camp before evening!" Fallen military law disposition! ”

"Yes!" Jia Xu threw the handsome flag in his arms to Zhang Xuan, who was standing on the side, and turned the green horse to go down the mountain.

Zhang Xuan held the ink flag in his arms and stuck the steel spear blade under the flagpole on the rock at his feet.

He was stunned, and his face changed: "General! ”

"What?" Dong Zhuo frowned slightly. 

"Someone is marching nearby...... It's getting closer, no more than thirty miles at most! Zhang Xuan clutched the flagpole in his hand, and listened intently with his ears close to him.

When the barbarians marched, the samurai were accustomed to sleeping with their heads resting on their saddles, and they could judge whether there was a large army moving nearby by shaking the ground, and a keen person could even deduce the number and distance of the opposing party, and distinguish between light and heavy horses.

Zhang Xuan had never marched in the Hokuriku, but he had learned this technique while hunting in Qingzhou.

The vibration coming from the current flagpole was not like the sound of a foot soldier and a mere 3,000 cavalry in his own army. 

Dong Zhuo put his hand on the flagpole, was silent for a moment, and nodded: "It's so fast...... I don't know if it's friend or foe. ”

"Cavalry," Zhang Xuan said anxiously, "I don't know the number, but it must be the galloping cavalry approaching." "How far is it?"

"Twenty miles at most." 

Dong Zhuo drew the curved bow at his waist, stretched out his bow and set up an arrow, and a Ming Di pulled up a sharp whistle and pierced into the sky.

He had no time to descend the mountain to give the order, and with a sound of the hammer, he ordered the three armies to pass through the valley with all their might, and set up a defensive position on the plain outside.

The three of them immediately spurred their horses and galloped down the hill like a whirlwind, and at this time Zhang Xuan had already sounded Shen Xiong's marching horn in the army.

By the time they rushed down the hill and caught up with the advancing troops, a faint cloud of smoke had risen on the horizon at the end of the plain.

The three armies had already passed through the valley, and the crossbowmen were scattered in a line in front of the formation, mixed with the light cavalry of the forward battalion. All the light pawns formed a scale formation of 15,000 men in the rear, which was one of the strongest defensive formations.

At this time, everyone could clearly feel the vibration under their feet.

"Wuli," Dong Zhuo said in a low voice, "If it is not the Wind Tiger Rider of the Ming Kingdom, then it can only be ......"

Before the words fell, the blood-red banner was already rising above the dust, and under the light of the sky, the emblem on the flag was not clear.

Zhang Xuan was stunned, and in the sound of iron hooves like wind and thunder, he actually heard the singing.

"The mountains are vast and wild, and the wilderness is vast and the river is boundless. Crossing the great river and the sea of heaven, the battle with the son is a long road. ”

At first, it was just one person singing and howling, and at the end of this sentence, it was actually the response of the three armies in unison: "Over a thousand mountains, cross the river." The sea of heaven is a long road. Collect my bones by the sea, hold my old bow and shoot the wolf! ”

It was a funeral song, and it was the first time in Zhang Xuan's life that she had heard such a tragic and heroic singing.

They slurred their words, like those borderlanders who couldn't pronounce their words accurately, but no one could laugh at their songs, because they were so ambitious.

The red-armored cavalry on the opposite side swept across the grassland like a storm, singing the ballad of the battlefield of bones, even though they had seen their own banner, they did not retreat.

They don't seem to care about life and death at all, they just want to let their horses gallop and gallop again, stepping through thousands of mountains and rivers and going straight to the edge of heaven and earth.

The big flag fluttered, and the emblem on it finally caught Zhang Xuan's eyes, and countless black lines formed a ring that appeared in the red flag scroll, in which a big word was written.

The Red Brigade of the mighty general He Jin!

"Hold my old bow and shoot the wolf...... The heart of the battle is endless,"

Dong Zhuo stroked the hilt of the sword on his waist, "When heroes meet in the world, they are always so unprepared. ”

"General, why don't you take advantage of their unstable foothold and immediately rush into battle?" Zhang Xuan stepped forward and asked.

"The cavalry of the mighty general can charge at any time, and it doesn't matter if the foothold is unstable. They have seen us, and they are singing this song to warn our army not to be presumptuous. People may want to take advantage of our unstable foothold to charge in one fell swoop and kill us without leaving a piece of armor. ”

Dong Zhuo smiled lightly, but his smile was not easy.