The capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty, Luoyang.

Luoyang, which is a prosperous city that occupies eight points of the Central Plains, is also the capital of the 23rd emperor of the Great Zhou royal family. And at this moment, sitting in the palace of Luoyang, the Son of Heaven, who should hold the authority of the whole world, is sitting on pins and needles.

The twenty-third king of the Great Zhou royal family, the eldest son of the first king, can be said to be justifiable in succession, and he has been smart since childhood, and is quite loved and valued by the first emperor.

There is such a small story circulating among the people, and I don't know if it was fabricated by the royal family in order to build momentum for this king, or it is something else.

Legend has it that when the contemporary King of Zhou was young, the first king gathered thirteen sons one day to go to the school parade together. The thirteen young boys, when they came to the school martial arts field for the first time, many of them were frightened to hide behind the attendants, and the sound of the iron hooves of the galloping war horses and the shouts of the soldiers training really startled them, only the future king of Zhou had a fearless face and held his head high. Later, on the way back to the palace, the king asked about the aspirations of his thirteen sons, and asked them about the deeds of the former king whom they admired the most.

Thirteen sons have different opinions, some say that they worship King Wen's talent, and some say that they worship King Ren's love for the people like a son, when asked about the contemporary King Zhou, this young boy has a sharp look in his eyes, and said: "The sons like the king of martial arts the most, go out to fight against Di, and obey the princes inside." The husband should hold a three-foot sword and make immortal achievements! ”

At that time, it was the Great Zhou Dynasty that was worried about external troubles, the Xiongnu often invaded the border, the three Jin Dynasty were divided, and the dynasty was in chaos, and a bold monarch was needed to pacify the sea and foreign countries by force. When the first king heard this, he said with great joy: "My eldest has the qualifications of a martial king!" ”

Such a bright and ambitious king has been very depressed and even angry since he ascended the throne.

Zhou Tianzi ascended the throne at the age of twenty-three, full of talent and wanted to do something, but there was nowhere to do it. The ills left by generations of previous kings to the Great Zhou Dynasty are piling up more and more, and it is too difficult to clean up such a mess. And there was no chance to clean it up, the year before last, Bai Lang 100,000 iron rode into Luoyang, breaking the precedent that the princes' armies were not allowed to be summoned and did not enter the national capital. Zhou Tianzi, who had just ascended the throne, became a hostage who was held hostage by Bai Lang to give orders to the princes, and was imprisoned in the deep palace, where he could only practice swords by cutting scarecrows every day to vent his anger.

Zhou Tianzi sat high in the hall, and looked at Bai Lang who was going to the hall with a knife with an angry face: "General Bai, why are all the defenders at the head of Luoyang City replaced by your people!" ”

The military attache brought a knife to the palace, which is a very high treatment for the past dynasties, but Bai Lang is different, since Bai Lang entered Luoyang, he brought a knife into the palace without permission, the Son of Heaven and the hundred officials were angry, but there was nothing to be done, and it was regarded as invisible for a long time, but today there is another thing that makes the Son of Heaven extremely angry.

Today, he was just preparing for the morning court, when the commander of the city head guard ran into the palace with an embarrassed face, crying at his feet. The Son of Heaven was inexplicable for most of the day, and the commander cried and said that Bai Lang had replaced all the people of the city head guard with the Qin army early this morning.

Bai Lang didn't look at the anger on Zhou Tianzi's face, but bowed his head respectfully and said: "Liu Cunyi, the commander of the city's head guards, was corrupt and bent the law, kidnapped and plundered the women of good families, and the city's head guards sang songs day and night, often leaving their posts without permission, and the people were afraid of its power and suffered deeply. ”

Zhou Tianzi frowned, although he knew that most of what Bai Lang said was true, but he still said angrily: "Since this is the case, it should also be ascertained by the official and then reported to the imperial court." ”

Bai Lang said: "Such complicated procedures only make the people suffer. ”

Zhou Tianzi took a deep breath and said, "It's just a matter of withdrawing Liu Cunyi, what does it mean to replace all the guards at the head of the city with the army of your Qin State!" Since General Bai doesn't need to report his actions, why don't you change my Imperial Forest Army tomorrow? ”

Bai Lang said softly: "The minister doesn't dare." ”

Zhou Tianzi snorted coldly, and then a white-haired old minister came out: "The minister has something to say!" ”

Zhou Tianzi looked at the white-haired old minister who came out of the ranks, his face softened a little, and he said respectfully: "Doctor Yu, please speak." ”

This Doctor Yu is the former emperor's trusted minister, and he is also an old minister of the Three Dynasties, Zhou Tianzi is very respectful, and he wants to hear what he has to say. Unexpectedly, Doctor Yu raised his eyebrows and said angrily: "Bai Lang changed the city defense without permission and did the things of the Son of Heaven!" Kill it immediately! ”

After saying that, the ministers all glared at Bai Lang angrily, and Zhou Tianzi didn't expect this old doctor to be so direct, and he was stunned for a while.

Doctor Yu then said angrily: "Bai Lang, do you have something to say!" ”

Bai Lang said: "The city guard is the most important part of Luoyang's city defense force, and in recent days, the princes have changed frequently, and the ministers are worried about the safety of Luoyang City, so they have changed the city defense. ”

Bai Lang, who became the target of everyone, raised his head and glanced at Doctor Yu, and then turned around and walked out of the hall.

Everyone was stunned, and the guards outside the hall also held down the handle of the knife and looked at Bai Lang cautiously, but Bai Lang's hand was not pressed on the scabbard, so he walked out of the hall directly.

The guards broke out in a cold sweat and trembled, but none of them dared to draw their swords.

Bai Lang, the world-famous number one general, the myth on the battle battlefield in the past ten years of the Great Zhou Dynasty, seems to be not angry and self-assured, and there is a murderous aura on his body that grinds out from the battlefield, even if even the civil officials who don't use knives and guns can feel it.

After Bai Lang left, everyone in the hall breathed a sigh of relief, only Doctor Yu was still angry, and scolded: "I entered the hall without being called, and now I have left ahead of schedule!" Rebels and thieves! Rebels and thieves! ”

Zhou Tianzi frowned, a little dissatisfied with the old minister's gaffe, and left with a wave of his sleeves.

Zhou Tianzi, who returned to the dormitory, was not isolated and helpless, but a powerlessness that had no successors in the Great Zhou Temple.

The Great Zhou Dynasty attached great importance to seniority and age, as if the older the more talented, this habit of employing people has been particularly prevalent in the past 50 years. Just when the princes vigorously supported the Qingzhuang faction to discuss politics and take charge of the military, the Great Zhou Dynasty still insisted on using old ministers. Zhou Tianzi went to the court today, and when he saw himself facing the white-haired old ministers of the Manchu Dynasty, he felt out of place, and the youngest ministers were all forty-three years old, and their positions were insignificant.

Such an old minister of the Manchu Dynasty naturally has nothing to say about his loyalty, but it is difficult to achieve great things. As they grow older, their thinking is solidified, they do not pursue flexibility, and blindly follow the ancestral system. In the past few years, Zhou Tianzi has also tried to cultivate a group of young generals in private, but the results are quite small. There are a lot of squeezes on these old ministers in the officialdom, and the space left for young people is too small, and these old ministers attach great importance to the background of the door valve, Zhou Tianzi wanted to raise this issue in the court several times to improve, but every time he saw the flickering tears of those old ministers, he couldn't bear to reprimand.

Zhou Tianzi slashed at the scarecrow engraved with Bai Lang's name with a powerful knife, which cut the scarecrow in half, and then he threw the knife to the ground.

The attendants standing around saw that this son of heaven was angry, and they didn't dare to move forward, but only dared to look from afar.

The young Zhou Tianzi sat on the ground, staring blankly at somewhere, and did not move for a long time.

......

Bai Lang, who withdrew from the hall, took dozens of horsemen and ran directly to the Tiger Prison Pass to inspect the customs defense.

Dare to rush from Luoyang to Tiger Prison Pass with only dozens of horses, which is a very risky move in the eyes of many people. Since Bai Lang entered Luoyang, assassinations have emerged in an endless stream, mostly mai homicides, and there is even the shadow of the Son of Heaven behind the scenes. Basically, there were dozens of assassinations a month, either for street blockades, or at night, but all of them failed.

In the entire Luoyang City, there are too many people who want to kill Bai Lang, but there are almost no people who can kill Bai Lang.

Regardless of Bai Lang's long-trained personal guards, Bai Lang's own force alone is the best in China, and he is known as the first person in the 30 years of the Great Zhou Dynasty. It's just that in recent years, Bai Lang's position has become higher and higher, and as the commander of the three armies of the Qin State, there are many fewer people who go into battle in person.

Dozens of riders dare to rush from Luoyang to the Tiger Prison Pass, this move is risky in the eyes of others, but in the eyes of Bai Lang and the guards around him, dozens of riders are more!

Sure enough, halfway through the run, more than 100 horsemen blocked the road from the side of the official road, all dressed in iron armor, and their faces were not covered, and the weapons they held were all standard weapons.

After many assassination failures, those who tried to assassinate Bai Lang gradually became fearless, anyway, they were killing national thieves, so why hide it? Therefore, the assassin went from being dressed in black at the beginning and wrapping his face in a black scarf to being above board now.

Today is even more excessive, even the iron armor is put on, and it is still all standard weapons, as if he is afraid that Bai Lang will not know that they are all from the official family.

The leader shouted, "Traitor Bai Lang, today is your death!" "It turned out to be a very young boy.

Bai Lang and the dozens of horsemen around him were unaware of it, and their pace was not slow, and they rushed forward on their war horses.

The young man who blocked the road was stunned for a moment, and the more than 100 riders behind him were also stunned, and then the young man was furious: "You dare not take us in your eyes!" ”

Then more than 100 horsemen were ready to go, and under the command of the young man, they set up a neat array.

But just as they set up the formation, the dozens of horsemen led by Bai Lang had already rushed to the front of the formation, and the formation of more than 100 horsemen blocking the road was smashed.

I have to say that these more than 100 cavalry are still too tender, cavalry confrontation, array is important, but it is more important to compare the horse's sprint speed, so often the earlier the cavalry who starts the charge, the greater the advantage, so that the horse can run to full speed faster. What is ridiculous is that these more than 100 horsemen blocked the road like robbers, and they still had time to reorganize the formation, and they lost the opportunity at the beginning.

Not only today's assassins, but also the assassins of the past, all look like they have been in battle for a long time, lacking a ruthless force on the battlefield.

In just a moment, the more than 100 assassins who rode in the way were completely killed, and a long big hole was cut on the chest of the young man who was still full of righteous indignation, and his face was still full of disbelief before he died.

Bai Lang's personal guards were not damaged, and after clearing the group of assassins, he continued to run towards the Tiger Prison.