The westernmost part of the Changle Plateau, a small undeveloped grassland, is where the horse ranch is located. Everyone in the world knows that Changle Hou Yuanzhao, as the first person to propose to strengthen ties with the Western Regions, one of the reasons that could impress the emperor the most at the beginning was the good horses from several countries in the Western Regions.

The best horse in the world, sweat and blood BMW! In the past few years, in the continuous victories of the Western Regions War, no less than nearly 100,000 war horses have been transported back to the Central Plains. Among them, there are dozens of purebred sweat and blood BMWs.

Perhaps in the minds of many people, as the planner of several wars, Yuanzhao's fiefdom horse farm must also have a large number of excellent horses. He has the right to enjoy such benefits, whether in public or private.

However, outsiders are wrong. This vast horse farm has indeed bred many war horses. However, they were all transferred to the battlefield one after another. The brave and fearless soldiers of the Han army rode them to fight east and west, chasing the dead and chasing the north, and won brilliant victories again and again.

Therefore, in the current Changle Plateau Horse Ranch, among the vast long grass, in addition to a very small number of good horses, there are only thousands of old horses with teeth.

These horses were all retired from the battlefield. Their glorious mission has come to an end with injuries and old age, and the years of following their masters on the battlefield are long gone, and their fate awaits them as little as being sold into the hands of slaves or slaughterhouses in the market.

It may seem tragic to say, but who would worry about the fate of these animals or something! It seems that this is a matter of course and a matter of course.

However, the young marquis didn't think so. Yuan Zhao once issued a reward order for the merchants who accompanied the army to fight for this purpose. He clearly announced that all wounded or unmountable war horses that were transported back from the battlefield could be transferred to Changle Plateau. The price is paid according to the market price of the good horse.

Since Changle Hou has such a request, for businessmen, if they don't have money, it is not a matter at all. It's just the work of running errands along the way, and who lacks money for a few horses.

As a result, in the past few years, there have been nearly 10,000 retired war horses from various battlefields. Yuan Zhao placed them all in the pasture. Spring blossoms and autumn fruits, the years pass away, let it grow old and .......

Some people think that Yuan Zhao is a bit too "woman's benevolence". This is also seen by some secret enemies as a weakness in his character that can be broken through.

However, the left-behind people at Changle Plateau Ranch never thought so. For these people, after the vicissitudes of wind and rain, countless swords and swords have been thrilling...... Perhaps, only the most precious "benevolence" in this human nature is a rare treasure in the world!

As the years passed, those war horses that once had a sturdy body were finally exhausted, and gradually grew old, died, and returned to dust...... Just like the people who guard them.

Veterans don't die, they just wither! The man who volunteered to spend the rest of his life on the ranch was not a veteran who had returned from the battlefield. However, they are much more complicated than the veterans of a hundred battles have experienced.

Like those retired war horses, they can't withstand the ruthless years after all. These loyal guards who guarded Changle Palace at the beginning are now not much left.

In fact, this time is not very long. More than ten years ago, the Empress Dowager Dou went to the immortals, and those of them who respected Emperor Wen's order to loyally guard Changle Palace, their original destination should have been to go to the cold Baling for the rest of their lives.

However, Yuan Zhao, who was still a teenager at the time, specially asked for a special will, and Emperor Liu Che allowed them to return to the old mountains and forests, and from then on they were exiled to freedom.

It has been ten years since then, the old manager of Changle Palace named Xiuyu led his group of brothers out of Weiyang Palace and came to Changle Plateau.

Ten years is not a long time, but it is not a short time. Even if these palace guards have experienced the vicissitudes of iron-blooded battles, there are still fewer and fewer after all. But in these last years, each of them experienced the most comfortable days.

Yuan Zhao provided them with all the comforts they could think of. The so-called grazing of horses in this pasture is just a pastime. If there is any regret in Lao Xiuyu's heart, it is that he is very ashamed, I am afraid that in these old years, there will be no more opportunities to help Yuan Zhao.

“…… Ahem, ahem! This kid is a rare person who values love and righteousness! I guess I'll be back in a few days, right? ”

On a summer night, the breeze is blowing, and under the starry sky in front of you is a vast green lawn. Three or five figures were on the top of the slope, drinking the wine in the altar, but they were very refreshing. The show is old! His waist had been bent into a hunchback, and he had been a drunkard for the rest of his life, as if he wanted to make up for everything he lacked in the first half of his life.

Naturally, there was everything in the wine on Changle Plateau, especially in the pasture, several disciples of Yuan Zhao obeyed the orders of the master and never dared to run short of supplies here. And for these old guys, whether it was Yuan Zhao or the young disciples who followed him, they all felt very kind, just like sons and nephews. Although most of them have no relatives.

"yes, I think I'm coming back soon. It is said that there will be a big scene in Chang'an City in the near future, and the emperor can't do without him...... Anyway, when you come back this time, you must let him come here and have a good drink. The fifth brother and the ninth brother have just left...... We don't necessarily wake up one morning and won't be able to see each other. Alas! The most difficult thing in the world is impermanence......! ”

Listening to the old brother talk about his recent death, there was some silence in the night. But after a while, Xiuyu lifted the wine jar and poured a few big sips, but there was a rare heroism in the old tone.

"Yuan Zhao once said that life is short, what is it difficult to do? For example, the morning dew, the day is bitter! Birth, old age, sickness and death are common things...... We have experienced so many ups and downs in our lives, do we still have to follow the example of children and do these senseless sighs of sadness? Come, come, come! And after this jar of wine, maybe in the near future, we will be reunited with our brothers who had gone earlier. Hahaha! ”

The rest of the people laughed when they heard him say this. There were thirty or fifty people at the beginning, but now there are less than ten of them left. And they are all old and have been sealed for a long time. Perhaps, only good wine is the best companion for the rest of your life.

Xiuyu drank all the wine in the exquisite wine jar, looked at the night sky in the north, the stars were sparse, and his heart was a little sad after all. He hadn't seen Yuan Zhao for more than half a year. I never imagined that young man would do such an achievement today...... Remembering the first time I saw him in Changle Palace, a faint smile appeared in the eyes of the hunchbacked old man.

Just as he was about to say something more, a crisp bell broke the silence of the night and came from not far away. Such a bell may be unfamiliar to other people on Changle Plateau, but Xiuyu's face changed at that time, and he stood up, and his waist straightened all of a sudden.

"Something has changed! The enemy is coming......! ”

No one knows better than him what the sound of this rarely ringing brass bell means! Because this original suggestion was made by him.

In view of the fact that a large number of ill-intentioned people tried to take advantage of the opening of Chang'an University to launch an attack and create unrest a few years ago. After the situation subsided, Xiuyu made this suggestion to Yuan Zhao. Build a bell tower on the high part of Changle Plateau and cast a bronze bell. When the situation is critical, you can send an emergency signal so as not to be caught off guard by the enemy.

Xiuyu still remembers that at that time, Yuan Zhao agreed to him casually with a dispensable attitude. Perhaps Yuan Zhao didn't think that such precautions could make much of a difference. However, Xiuyu does not think so.

The bell tower was not far from here, and the sudden ringing of such a night would not be a boredom of someone idle, but an unpredictable emergency.

Just when the four or five people in Xiuyu began to be vigilant at the same time, the rest of the people in the ranch had already flashed out of their resting places.

"What's going on......?!" Someone in the night asked eagerly.

Xiuyu made a gesture, and more than a dozen old brothers who had already communicated with each other for many years gathered over. He only asked lightly.

"There is an enemy attacking...... Are all the dusty knives still pulled out? ”

It was as if a momentum came out of nowhere, and suddenly it filled the surroundings. More than a dozen pairs of eyes glowed at the same time in the night.

"Knives, all the time. Even if it's rusty, it can still kill! ”

"Good! Then show the knife! It's been 10 years...... Hehe! I don't know if the old man's knife can be as sharp as before! ”

After saying this, the old Xiuyu could no longer see a trace of hunchback. His tall body was just like the way he used to be when he was guarding in Changle Palace. Tonight, this group of former loyal guardians still has a sharp blade. It's just that their last loyalty is no longer for the royal family, but for the boy who once got along with each other!

At the same time, after ringing the bronze bell, Ji Jia, who pulled out his sword again, rode a horse like crazy and desperately headed towards Chang'an. While galloping on the horse, he couldn't help but look back at the young master of the Ji family who was looking to the southeast, in fact, he very much wanted to turn the horse's head, return to the shallow reeds, and fight side by side with his two brothers to live and die together.

However, Jiga can't! He also has a more important mission on his shoulders, to go to Chang'an to move rescue soldiers! The thousands of enemies attacking are too powerful. With the existing left-behind forces on Changle Plateau alone, it can't be stopped at all.

Lu Jun, Li Ling...... I hope you'll all be alive when I come back! ”

Ji Jia wiped away the tears in his eyes, quickly stepped through the night, and went straight to Chang'an.