A year and a half passed quietly, and in the blink of an eye, it was the Qingming season.

The drizzle under the gloomy sky was drizzling, the trees were soaked with rain, the branches and leaves hung with rain and dew were even more verdant, and a white umbrella flower bloomed on a small dirt hill outside the city of Gusu.

Gong Wanran held an umbrella alone, standing silently in front of an inconspicuous small grave, the rain flew obliquely, soaking his clothes, he stared at the tombstone, and only four words fell on the cold tombstone - "Concubine Zheng Dan".

Gong Wanran stood in the rain for a long, long time, and the drizzle was still dripping, but he remained motionless, staring gloomily at the name on the inscription.

"Mr. Gonghui, go back, the mother will be distressed." I don't know when, Xiaomei came to Gong Wanran's side with an umbrella.

"Little beautiful girl, you're here." Gong Wan bowed.

"I'll come and see the mother." Xiaomei said, squatting down and wiping off the mud spots on the tombstone, "Mr. has been standing here for a long time, go back quickly, Niangniang will really feel distressed." ”

Gong Huang Ran didn't say anything.

Xiaomei gently put down a bunch of unknown wildflowers in front of the monument, "Mr. doesn't know, in fact, that time, Niangniang really made up her mind, as long as Mr. agreed......"

"I know."

"Niangniang's life is hard, she is an infatuated person, but she ......" Xiaomei said and choked, she knelt in front of the tombstone, held the umbrella around her neck, and wiped the base of the tombstone with both hands.

"If I hadn't met Mr., my mother would still be alive, but ...... Whining...... But the mother said that being able to meet Mr. Woo, it was her, and it was the happiest thing in her life. ”

The umbrella slipped off her neck and fell into the muddy puddle on the side, she didn't care about the umbrella, just wiped her crying red eyes with her mud-stained sleeves, "That's the only time in my life, woo, the only time I plan to live for myself, how much I hope, woo, how much I hope that Mr. can agree!" ”

"I'm sorry......" Gong Huiran stretched out the umbrella and hit Xiaomei, and the rain quickly soaked Gong Huiran's hair, down the corners of his eyes and cheeks, and slowly flowed down.

"Niangniang doesn't blame you, Niangniang said that Mr. is not wrong, the fault is that she should not make such a request to Mr., she regrets it...... Whining...... The mother said that she made her husband embarrassed by doing that......"

Gong Wanran closed his eyes and shook his head vigorously, but he couldn't say a word.

"After that, the king locked her up in the harem and never paid attention to it, and the mother's body was not as good as day by day, but ...... Woo, do you know, sir's biggest wish, woo, the biggest wish is to be able to see Mr. again, but...... But never again! Woo, woo......" Xiaomei hugged the tombstone tightly and finally couldn't cry.

Gong Wanran sighed deeply, the rain condensed a cold mist, and on the empty hills, the flowing clouds slowly drifted away, like a long pavilion on the clouds, connecting the two sides of the world......

A few days later, Zhang Xun returned to the courtyard to bid farewell to Gong Wanran, and this time, the king ordered him to lead his troops to attack the state of Lu. Since Hana's accident, Zhang Xun never dared to return to the courtyard, at first he soaked in the workshop all day long to develop the Chongli sword, and then completely moved into Sima's mansion.

Zhang Xun looked at the familiar and unfamiliar scene in the courtyard, couldn't help but shake his head and sighed, and then said: "The 30,000 army is ready to go, and it may take half a year to attack Lu this time." ”

"Well, do you have enough clothes?" Gong Wanran asked with concern.

"Don't worry, it's not the first time I've led troops out."

"When you're out there, you have to take care of yourself."

"Got it."

Gong Wanran patted Zhang Xun on the shoulder, "But this battle may not be easy to fight, Lu Guo is much stronger than Chen Guo, and Qi Guo will also support Lu Guo, this time you have to be more careful." ”

"Hey, this expedition is another nameless division, the king is becoming more and more belligerent, and the desire to fight for hegemony is becoming more and more obvious, but I'm afraid it's not a good thing. Fortunately, this time we also have allied forces, Yue sent 10,000 troops, led by General Xiao Se, and Chen sent 5,000 troops, led by General Mo Hua. A month later, the armies of the three countries met on the border of Lu. ”

"Xiao Xun, the so-called allies are nothing more than interests or a last resort, and they must not be used or prevented."

"I know that this is not only the case externally, but also internally in our army. The year before last, Huang Yun's embezzlement of gift money was not dealt with strictly, somewhat because of the queen's face, and in the end he was just dismissed from his post and investigated, and he was released after being locked up for a few months. Last year, the queen gave birth to another son, and as soon as the king was happy, he reinstated Huang Yunguan. This time, the king ordered Huang Yun to be a partial general, probably hoping that he could atone for his sins in order to restore the title. ”

"So you have to be more careful, although Huang Yun's power in the court was greatly weakened after the incident the year before last, he may still attack you in secret."

"Hehe, I hope he has the guts, after all, this revenge is not over, if he doesn't do it, I will do it too." An imperceptible smile appeared on Zhang Xun's face.

"Let's be careful." Gong Wanran was a little worried.

In mid-June, the scorching heat was unbearable, and the offensive of the combined forces of Wu, Yue and Chen against Lu had lasted for more than two months, and at this time the allied forces had torn through the outer defense line of Lu and set up camp fifty miles south of Qufu City, the capital of Lu State.

Zhang Xun convened the generals of the three countries to discuss the military aircraft.

The veteran Yu Lan, as a deputy general, first said to Zhang Xun: "General, we have captured all the towns south of Qufu, and now only this capital is left. ”

Mo Hua pointed to the sand table and said: "Now Qufu is a lonely city, but the city is high and the food is sufficient, I'm afraid there is no problem in guarding it for three or two years." ”

Zhang Xun stared at the sand table and nodded, he thought it was true, Yu Lan and Mo Hua were both veterans, and their opinions were very valuable, at this time, Xiao Shi always stood aside and did not speak. Zhang Xun raised his head and asked, "General Xiao, what do you think?" ”

Xiao Shi said: "Qufu is easy to defend and difficult to attack, in addition, according to the Tanmalai report, now the Qi State has decided to send troops to rescue the Lu State, and the army has entered the territory of the Lu State, which is only more than 200 miles away from Qufu. The appearance of the Qi army makes us very passive. ”

Zhang Xun was very anxious, "Yes, the current situation is confusing and changing rapidly, and a decision must be made as soon as possible." ”

Xiao Shi said: "I think that we must defeat Qufu before the arrival of the Qi army, and send troops to attack the city early tomorrow morning and take Qufu in one fell swoop, otherwise when the Qi army arrives, we will be more passive." ”

Mo Hua glanced at Xiao Shi and said disdainfully: "Hmph, take it in one fell swoop?" How can it be that easy? Oh, I forgot, General Xiao has never guarded the city, and I don't know how to defend this city, so it's normal for General Xiao to say such words that don't know the depths, hehe. ”

"General Mo has guarded Wanqiu, what is the result? Wasn't it still taken down by General Zhang in one fell swoop? Xiao Shi sneered.

Mo Hua was a little emotional, "Xiao She, you are embarrassed to say such things, it is really shameless, if it weren't for your stupid move, how could Wanqiu fall?!" It's good that you have harmed Chen Guo, and you are running quite fast. ”

"General Mo is talking nonsense, if it weren't for you and Ju Gu being stupid, how could Chen Guo have fallen?!"

When the two were arguing, they only heard a crisp sound of "bang", Zhang Xun pulled out the heavy Li sword at his waist and cut a bronze wine lord on several cases into two pieces.

"Shut up! The Military Aircraft Council, how can you two quarrel! And then there are gibberish, cut! Zhang Xun scolded sharply.

Yu Lan, Mo Hua and Xiao Shi were all taken aback, and Mo Hua and Xiao Shi each bowed their heads and didn't dare to quarrel anymore.

At this time, Zhang Xun's momentum is very different from three years ago, he is no longer the fledgling young general, and his words and deeds are full of general's demeanor.

"Report! Urgent! Suddenly, an emergency report came from outside the tent.

A scout ran into the tent at a brisk pace, knelt down and reported: "Report to the General!" Twenty miles to the west, a group of men and horses is rushing towards our army! ”

"How many?!" Zhang Xun asked.

"Nearly a thousand."

"The west side? Lu troops? ”

"It shouldn't be the Lu State Army, the flag says 'Zhou'."

"'Week'? The Son of Heaven's centaurs? Zhang Xun was confused, thought for a moment, and then decisively ordered: "Go out of the camp to welcome!" ”

"Whoa!"

Zhang Xun led the generals to meet the Zhou team ten miles outside the camp.

The Zhou army fluttered its flags, the soldiers were brightly dressed, they marched solemnly with neat steps, and the clean blades shone in the sun, a good journey of the Son of Heaven.

Zhang Xun sent soldiers to contact the Zhou team, and then personally greeted them.

After a brief introduction and greetings, Zhang Xun learned that the leader of the team was one of the six secretaries of the Zhou State, Taishi - Ji Shang. This man is over fifty years old, but he does not have a single white hair, his face is ruddy, his voice is like a bell, his words and deeds are decent, approachable, and he looks very easy-going.

Ji Shang followed Zhang Xun and others to the camp, everyone sat down in the camp tent, and Ji Shang took the lead in saluting Zhang Xun.

"General Zhang, Ji Shang is polite."

Zhang Xun hurriedly replied: "Lord Ji, fortunately!" Fortunately! I didn't know that Lord Ji was coming, but it was really a long way off. ”

Ji Shang said with a smile: "Where is it, General Zhang greets him for ten miles, it is already courtesy, hehe." ”

"Lord Ji, I don't know why you came to this war-torn place?"

Ji Shang stroked his beard and said: "It is precisely because this is a place of war that I have to come, hehe, it is a mission to be here." ”

"Oh? What is the mission of adults? ”

"Hehe, speaking of which, Wu, Yue, Chen, and the three kingdoms have jointly attacked the country of Lu for more than two months, and King Lu asked the Son of Heaven for help, hoping that the Son of Heaven will mediate, so, am I not here?"

"Lord Ji's trip is for mediation?"

"Exactly, exactly. The Son of Heaven hopes that everyone can turn hostility into peace, sit down and talk about it, and don't always fight, after all, this war is raging, and the people will not be spared. ”

Zhang Xun frowned, "Hey, Lord Ji is right, the princes fight and fight, and the people will inevitably suffer, but what Lu has done is despised by the people of the world, if you don't crusade, how can you explain to the people of the world?" ”

Ji Shang waved his hand and said: "General Zhang, King Lu has already admitted his mistake, the Son of Heaven will naturally punish Lu Guo, and King Lu also said that he is willing to reconcile with Wu Guo." ”

"Oh? That's what King Lu said? ”

"Exactly, exactly."

At this time, Xiao Shi suddenly interjected: "Hehe, since this is the case, then let King Nalu open the city gate and come out to surrender." ”

Xiao Xi's words were really inappropriate, but Ji Shang asked with a smile, "Who is this general?" ”

Xiao Shi looked disdainful and said: "In Xia Xiao She, he is the leader of the Yue Kingdom. ”

"General Xiao, fortunately, fortunately."

"Lord Ji, since King Lu is willing to negotiate peace, then there must be some sincerity. According to the following opinion, it is better for Lord Ji to go to Qufu to persuade King Lu and let him come out and surrender. ”

"Hehe, General Xiao, although King Lu is willing to negotiate peace, he is not willing to be arrested. Although I have never fought a war, I also know that the city of Qufu, the city is high and thick, and the grain and grass are abundant. ”

"Then what do you mean by Lady Ji, let's try a dozen?" Xiao Shi said provocatively.

"It's better not to try, hehe, it's better not to try." Ji Shang scratched his head and said with a smile: "After all, the Son of Heaven also hopes that the princes can live in peace." ”