Chapter 37: Loyalty in Doubt (Part II)

Looking at Su Qing, who was full of wind and frost but became more and more beautiful, Duan Wushu only felt a calm in his heart, and the love and hate of the past disappeared like the wind, and he smiled: "Your Highness has already agreed to your request?" ”

Su Qing had inexplicable thoughts in her heart, just from this sentence, she knew that the person in front of her had already regarded herself as a stranger, didn't she think of it a long time ago, in the past, it was said that Qinzhou was out of love, and it was doomed today. Raising her head, she said calmly: "Your Highness agrees to the general's request, as long as General Xuan is safe and sound, His Highness agrees, within a day, he will not pursue your army." ”

Duan Wuxian's eyes flashed with joy, originally he was just fighting, but he didn't expect it to work, he smiled: "But your army is strong, and our army is weak, I can't help but prevent His Highness from making a mistake, I don't know what your envoy's plans are?" ”

Su Qing said coldly: "His Royal Highness the King of Qi promised a thousand gold, how can there be any reason to regret it, but the general does not believe it, it is reasonable, if the general is willing, he can send General Xuan back to Yongying first, Su Qing is willing to be a hostage." ”

Duan Wushu actually didn't have any suspicions, but it was just to appease the army, so he said: "Since this is the case, then you will be wronged." ”

Su Qing smiled slightly, as beautiful as a cold plum blooming, she invited herself to be a hostage, if Duan Wushu was smart, he should quickly chase himself away, but I am afraid that until now, in this man's heart, he is just a lost lonely goose who has taken the wrong path, and his danger has not been learned by him, right?

When Xuan Song walked to the Yongjun Yuanmen, he felt a sense of cowardice in his heart, only to hear the horn of the army sound, the gate was wide open, Li Xian took the generals to greet him with great fanfare, Xuan Song only felt that his eyes were moist, and he took a few steps forward and bowed down and said: "The crime will be humiliated by the military prestige, please punish His Royal Highness." ”

Li Xian hurriedly stepped forward, stretched out his hand to hug each other, and stopped Xuan Song from bowing, he was full of apologies, and said: "Why did General Xuan say this, when it was said that Li Xian did not notice, so that this, when it was not for General Xuan's generosity to die, this king once said in advance, if there is a bad pool, there are all this kings to treat, you are fortunate to survive, if this king is to blame again, isn't it too harsh, you can rest assured, you can pay back the humiliation one by one." ”

Xuan Song was grateful, and it calmed down after a while, and hurriedly said: "Your Highness, don't stick to small righteousness, Duan Wushu is the best general at defense, if he returns to Jinyang to defend the city, it will be too much of a threat to our army, and please ask Your Highness to catch up and kill Duan Wuving." ”

Li Xian said with a smile: "I knew you would say this, but you don't have to worry, Duan Wushu will never be able to return to Jinyang, and besides, General Su is still hostage in his army, and it is not suitable to attack now." ”

Xuan Song was stunned and said: "How could General Su be a hostage, although she is shrewd and capable, but after all, she is a woman, and she has a deep enmity with the Northern Han Dynasty, I am afraid that even if Duan is invincible and abides by his faith, he will inevitably encounter danger." ”

Li Xian said in a low voice: "Don't worry, naturally someone will answer General Su, that invincible is a gentleman after all, and there is this king's army here, Su Qing will be fine, I'm afraid he will regret it." Thinking of the smugness, Li Xian couldn't help laughing. What could be more exciting than winning.

The two walked into the big tent of the Chinese army hand in hand, let Xuan Song sit on the left side of the chief, and the generals took their seats one by one, Li Xiandao: "General Xuan, you have returned from the calamity, you should have let you cultivate well, but now the military situation is urgent, Duan Wushu is good at defeating and retreating, step by step, this is also your strength, I have to let you work hard, and when you say that at this time, you lead the rank and tail to pursue, how to advance and retreat you deal with it cheaply." ”

Xuan Song was overjoyed in his heart, he was not worried that he would be put on hold temporarily, he didn't expect Li Xian to trust him so much, so he hurriedly got up and said, "The last general will obey the order." ”

Li Xian couldn't help but smile when he saw this, in fact, he didn't necessarily need Xuan Song to lead the army to fight now, he was just showing his importance to Xuan Song in this way, so as to avoid someone taking advantage of Xuan Song's capture to make trouble, no matter where it was, the villain was inevitable.

After the Northern Han army retreated from Pingyao, it was almost marching with all its might, and it had arrived in Yangyi in a short time, when the defense was arranged, Duan Wushu walked into the residence prepared by the soldiers for himself, as soon as he walked into the room, he stopped, only to see a person sitting outside, Su Qing sat on a chair, his jade hand on his cheek, and looked at himself with a smile. There was a blue-black cloak hanging on the pear wood hanger on the side, and the room was almost spotless, while the square table in front of Su Qing was full of fragrant food, and there was a copper basin square towel on the chair on the side, and the water in the basin was still steaming.

The two guards who followed Duan Wushu both subconsciously pressed the handle of the knife, but then showed a confused look, obviously this kind of warm scene made them wonder. Even Duan Wushu was confused for a while, if it weren't for Su Qing wearing a strong suit, a sword at his waist, and a bright smile with a little ridicule and coldness, he would almost mistake himself for returning home, and the men's beauty in front of him was his wife. His eyes returned to clarity, and he said coldly: "Why are you here, where is the sergeant watching you?" ”

Su Qing looked at the guards behind Duan Invincible, and said lightly, "Do you want to interrogate me in front of them?" ”

Duan Wushu didn't make a sound, waved his hand to send the guards away, and then sat down on the other side of the table, looking at Su Qing quietly. An inexplicable look flashed in Su Qing's eyes, and she said indifferently: "There are some old generals in the army, they still know me, some people are looking for an opportunity to come to question the matter, I told them that General Shi didn't know my identity, and I just used General Shi to live in Qinzhou City, although I did something to add fuel to the fire, but I didn't expect that General Long would be convinced that General Shi had rebelled, alas, General Shi was too strong, if he was willing to confess to General Long, he might not have a chance to clear his name." ”

Duan Wushu only felt bitter in his mouth, and said, "What you said is the truth?" ”

Su Qing recalled the scene when Quartz committed suicide angrily, even if she was hard-hearted, she couldn't help but feel sad, she said lightly: "It's the truth, sometimes the truth is often more able to lure people astray, but you don't have to regret it, although Quartz didn't secretly surrender to Dayong, but he did mean to target you, just because I told him some lies about you." Also, when Quartz committed suicide, he had already guessed my identity, but he didn't tell you, but was willing to die. ”

Duan Wushu was furious, his right hand slammed on the table, the cup and plate were slammed, he glared at Su Qing angrily, but the anger quickly subsided, just because he saw Su Qing's calm and cold expression. He relaxed and smiled bitterly, hadn't he already decided to treat this woman only as an enemy, and in that case, why should he be resentful of what she had done.

Feeling tired like he had never felt before, Duan Wushu said coldly: "Good means, in the past, General Shi was forced to commit suicide, and now it is used to slander me, Miss Su, you are ruthless enough, but why did you say it to me?" ”

Su Qing said meaningfully: "Today, you and I have a secret meeting here, and it will spread brightly, and it won't take much time, even Jinyang will know that you have found a high-sounding excuse to let General Xuan go, and you have a secret conversation with your fiancΓ©e in the past, what do you think Jinyang will think?" ”

Duan Wuyi was silent, Su Qing stood up, picked up his cloak and fastened it, and said, "The time has come, if you kill me now, you can save all this, otherwise, I may have a chance to collect the body for you." But if you can figure it out, His Royal Highness King Qi is waiting for you to abandon the darkness and turn to the light. ”

Duan Wushu was silent, although Su Qing framed him so far, but he did not have the slightest resentment, each other is their own master, no matter what they do, it is a matter of course, but Su Qing still left a way for himself to live, which is enough to make him grateful, but unfortunately, that road is what he would rather die than go, when Su Qing was about to walk out of the door, he said in a low voice: "Thank you, I'm sorry." ”

Su Qingjiao's body was shocked, although the two of them broke off their love in Qinzhou City, but how could this be done easily, whether it was hatred or love, she still had an invincible shadow in her heart. She came here today, not only to make Duan Wushu more difficult to argue, but also to hope that Duan Wushu could agree to surrender and avoid the disaster of killing, but even if she had this intention, she didn't expect this man to understand, in fact, she was ready, from now on, this man would only think that he was a poisonous snake and scorpion, but this man saw his mind clearly, but he clearly told himself that he would not accept it. Su Qing couldn't help but feel sour in her heart, she said in a low voice: "In the past, you and I promised each other, I have never regretted it, even if I was hurt by you later, I still treat you as a good man with iron bones, but since you and I have parted ways, there is no possibility of reuniting." However, do you really want to be martyred for the Northern Han Dynasty? ”

Duan Wushu said in a deep voice: "The blame for the past is me, I have nothing to say about your choice, you don't need to worry about me, ask for mercy, I die without resentment." It's just that I once heard that you have something to do with Fengyimen, and I was still worried that you would no longer be accepted by Dayong, although the world is big at that time, there is no place for you, but now it seems that King Qi is really an extraordinary person, and he is still reused for you, it is said that Emperor Yong's weapons are still above King Qi, and I think you will not be implicated because of this. It's just that there is one thing I always worry about, you are still alone with my sister-in-law, maybe I am arrogant, but after all, I mistook you for life, if possible, I hope you can get married as soon as possible, and you can also comfort your parents in the spirit of heaven. ”

Two lines of tears rolled down, Su Qing walked out of the door, she didn't answer, she didn't look back, she framed her former fiancΓ© with her own hands, it was very likely to send him to the guillotine, how could she not feel pain in her heart, not to mention that even if he was in a desperate situation, he still didn't have a trace of resentment, how could she not feel guilty. Walking out of the door, Su Qing quickly wiped away the tears, took the mount and drove away, the horse galloped in the wind, Su Qing had only one thought in his heart, invincible, if you die because of this, I can only use celibacy to atone for your sins.

I don't know how long she ran in a daze, Su Qing suddenly heard the sound of horses' hooves, she immediately came to her senses, looked up, and was immediately stunned, only to see two horses coming from the opposite side, and she recognized both of them immediately, it was Qiu Yufei who rode a black horse in front, and Ling Duan who rode a yellow horse behind. Both men slowed their horses in unison, then stopped their mounts and looked at each other silently.

Su Qing came to his senses first, and said on the horse: "It turned out to be the fourth prince of Qiu, who was chased and killed by the prince all the way, and now the last general still remembers the pain of the day, I heard that the prince sent an envoy to the East China Sea, and I didn't expect to return today, is this going to Yangyi, Duan Invincible General Duan is in Yangyi, and in a day or two, I am afraid that the main force of my Yongjun will be here, although the son has outstanding martial arts, but after all, he is only one person, for the sake of the son, it is better to ask the son to return to Jinyang quickly." ”

Qiu Yufei smiled slightly, a trace of admiration flashed in his eyes mixed with the complex emotions of the killing machine, for this woman, he admired it deeply, a weak orphan girl, alone in the tiger's den, and made great achievements, when he said that he chased and killed all the way, only this woman can fight with himself, high martial arts, deep scheming, high wisdom, plus proficient in music and rhythm, and beautiful appearance, how not to make Xu Mei embarrassed, but unfortunately he hated the Northern Han Dynasty like a sea, and did not hesitate to abandon his family and country to serve the enemy country. Do you want to kill her to destroy the powerful arm of the King of Qi? It's just that now the three of them are in the wilderness, and the woman's war horse is also one of the best horses in a thousand, and if she escapes with all her heart, she may not be able to succeed.

When Qiu Yufei was hesitating whether to make a move, the smoke and dust were billowing behind him, and the first one was a young man in Tsing Yi, his face was like snow, it was the evil shadow Li Shun, Qiu Yufei sighed slightly, and returned the salute to Su Qing and said: "Strange encounters, but there is no time to talk, the girl's pipa mastery, Yufei admires it very much, he said that if there is a fate, he should ask for advice." Then he rode his horse away in a hurry.

Su Qing only felt that the vest was dripping with cold sweat, and it wasn't until Qiu Yu flew away that she felt that the heavy pressure that had just shrouded her body disappeared, and at this time Xiao Shunzi had already arrived, and he said lightly: "Childe's letter has arrived, and he and General Su went to obey orders, and Childe said that we want to prepare to receive a good guest." A look of doubt flashed in Su Qing's eyes, what kind of guest did he want to greet the Marquis of Chu in person? A thought suddenly flashed in her heart like a spark, her face suddenly turned pale, and many things could be figured out, such as why Qiu Yufei appeared here, the more clearly she thought about it, the more Su Qing felt more and more chilled about Jiang Zhe's scheming, and now that she thought about it, she had decided to change his plan without permission, which was inevitably a little too reckless.

The night was dark, Duan Wushu looked at the Jinyang defense map drawn in his hand, and put down his pen with satisfaction, these two rumors were spreading, even most of his old troops were suspicious of him, if it weren't for his use of tough means to suppress it, I was afraid that these soldiers would have mutinied a long time ago, although there were also close generals and guards who still believed in themselves, but they could no longer do anything except to defend themselves in vain, and probably only needed a will of Jinyang, and he would be isolated and helpless, after all, he had never deliberately encircled his subordinates, Rebellion is not a tragedy for tyrannical leaders. On the night when Su Qing was sent away, an urgent military order arrived in Jinyang, ordering him to stick to Yangyi, Duan Wushu knew that this was Jinyang who was also suspicious of himself, and the matter had come to this point, and he had no intention of confessing, all the rumors could be said to be ninety percent true, but some non-existent details were added, but this made him speechless. Thinking that Jinyang should have made a decision, he felt a faint bitterness in his heart.

At this time, someone outside said coldly: "General Duan, why are you still here?" ”

Duan Wushu raised his head in amazement, and pushed the door in one person, Duan Wushu turned his surprise into joy, stepped forward and said: "It turned out to be the fourth prince, the East China Sea and his party must have many hardships and dangers, and the prince can return safely, and the national teacher must be overjoyed." ”

Qiu Yufei looked at Duan Wuyi and said gloomily: "When I entered the city, I already knew the current situation, your situation is too difficult, even if it is me, if I didn't have a relationship with you in the past, I would also doubt your loyalty, and to tell the truth, even if you were loyal in the past, now you are so persecuted, I am afraid that it will be difficult for you to continue to be loyal to the Northern Han, so although I pass on the master, I hope he will ease your cheeks, but I'm afraid it is useless, only now, if you go, you go to Dayong, as long as you don't attack Jinyang for them, I don't blame you either. ”

Duan Wushu smiled slightly, and said: "Why did Childe say this, Duan has a clear conscience, how can he abscond in fear of crime, Childe trusts Duan Mou's loyalty, Duan Mou is grateful, if I really escape, I am afraid that it will be a fake, after General Long was martyred, only Princess Jiaping was alone, she treated me well, I can't live up to her trust." ”

Suddenly, there was an angry reprimand from their own guards outside, these guards were all cronies who followed Duan Wushu to death and were born, and naturally knew how wronged their general was, but no one wanted to believe it even if they confessed, now that they were suddenly so chaotic, it must be the envoy of Jinyang who came to investigate him, Duan Wushu smiled slightly, and said: "Presumably it is the envoy of Jinyang who has arrived, and the prince may have inconvenience here, if you don't dislike it, please go to the inner room for a while, don't think about Duan." Qiu Yufei let out a long sigh, and his figure disappeared into the inner room, and the door to the inner room closed silently. Duan Wushu stood up and walked to the bookcase, waiting for the messenger to come in.

Not long after, the door was pushed open, and Duan Wushu saw Lin Bi with a haggard look at a glance, it turned out to be Princess Jiaping herself, what is going on, Lin Bi should now be in the general Jinyang Defense, Duan Wuving's expression couldn't help but change. Lin Bi walked to the back of the bookcase and sat down, looked at the ink-drenched defense map on the case, his expression darkened, and said, "Is General Duan still worried about the defense of Jinyang?" ”

Duan Wushu stood in front of the case and said: "The last general was in the Jinyang garrison, the Jinyang defense was impregnable, but the days are long, it is inevitable that there are some shortcomings, the last general has carefully studied how to remedy, but unfortunately it is not accepted by the military department, these few days the last general redrew a defense map with memory, some of which are weak points in defense, if you can strengthen the guard according to this map, or it will be better, please also ask the princess to see, if the princess thinks it is feasible, you might as well give it a try." ”

Lin Bi looked at Duan Wu's invincible face with a frank expression, and said, "Do you know that the king has issued a strict order to punish you immediately, and I have tried hard to persuade you many times, but the king is still stubborn." The meaning of the national teacher also said that even if you have no two hearts, there is no guarantee that you will not join the enemy, so you support the king's decision. ”

Duan Wushu said calmly: "The last general has long expected this, although the enemy's plan is simple, it is very ruthless, Duan also has a mistake, no matter why, the last general used to say that smuggling and bribery are conclusive evidence, and if the quartz general really died unjustly, the last general is also the culprit, not to mention that he indulged the prisoners for the sake of his surname, and let Su Qing go for personal reasons, this is all true, Duan knows that his crime cannot be punished, and the king only ordered beheading, which is already an extrajudicial favor, and the princess does not have to mind." ”

Lin Bi showed a look of regret on his face, and said: "Ting Fei said that he once told me about you, you didn't care about your reputation, you did a lot of things for the Northern Han Dynasty, but these kinds of crimes have wronged you, and you and the soldiers' surnames were exchanged for Xuansong, this is my acquiescence, let go of Su Qing, it is also a matter of course, can I still kill the envoy in the Northern Han?" It's just that the court and the central government are attacking the masses, and if I defend you a few more words, you will almost be expelled from the main hall by the lord of the country. Alas, in the past, it was said that the court was heavy on military force and light on literature, and now those civil officials are all fierce, as if if you don't kill you, Sheji will die, although there are many noble generals in the court, but Ting Fei used to like to promote generals from poor families, and they are quite complaining, and now Ting Fei is martyred, they will also take the opportunity to attack you, hum, the enemy is current, they don't think about how to deal with the enemy, and they are still excluding dissidents, as if they lead the army, they can save the situation, I don't know how to measure myself. General Duan, Lin Bi is incompetent and can't keep you, so he can only try to come to Yangyi to deal with you in person, so that you can also save your dignity. ”

Duan Wushu bowed down and said: "Thank you Your Royal Highness the princess for believing that the last general is loyal, the matter has come to this, the princess should not break with the court for the life and death of the last general, if there is no princess as the main general, I am afraid that Jinyang will be difficult to defend, and the last general will not resent the king and the princess even if he dies, so please ask the princess to order the last general to be beheaded in front of the battle. ”

Lin Bi covered his face and said: "Loyalty is suspicious, the court is sorry for you, you, you go." ”

Duan Wushu bowed again, and then walked towards the door, he just walked to the door, when Lin Bi's guards outside the door were about to step forward to tie him up, Lin Bi suddenly said loudly: "Slow." ”

Everyone was stunned, and looked at Lin Bi, only to see that Lin Bi's expression was very resolute, and she said categorically: "General Duan, with me Lin Bi here, I must not let you be innocently killed, you should leave the Northern Han Dynasty immediately, now the country is in chaos, our army has retreated in many places, and the Yongjun army has not yet been stationed, you have a great chance to escape." Go to Binzhou, now it is nominally not Dayong's belonging, and now Dayong can't care about arresting you, transfer from Binzhou to Nanchu, this is your only way to live, if you can drive away the Yong people in the future, you will have a chance to return to the Northern Han. ”

Duan Wushu was stunned when he heard this, he never thought that Lin Bi would have such a responsibility, if a person has a glimmer of life, how can he not firmly grasp it, only then Qiu Yufei persuaded him, he didn't want Lin Bi to doubt him, so he refused to leave, now Lin Bi persuaded him, he was relieved, the more he thought about it, the more he felt that it was feasible, if he could stay useful, and he would serve the country, if he died, it would be just a family pain and hatred, and now except for Lin Bi, there is no one who can support the crisis, Lin Bi only needs to say that he will flee first, If you want to come, the lord of the country will not blame Lin Bi.

When Lin Bi saw his situation, she couldn't help but feel bitter, but thinking of this person's loyalty to the country and the feat of discredit, she still decided to bear the blame of letting go of the "rebellion", she stepped forward and said: "General Duan, you can't stay here for a long time, the lord of the country may send another envoy, and then you will not be able to get out, I know that you have always been honest and have no money to spare, you can use these gold beads on the road." Saying that, he stuffed a money bag into Duan Wuyi's hand, this money bag contained some light gold beads, which were valuable and easy to carry, before leaving, Lin Bi made a divine messenger on her body, maybe she had this idea at that time, but it was only in the past that she finally made up her mind.

Duan Wushu took the money bag, couldn't help but burst into tears, he also knew that Lin Bi had a big role to play, and he knew that this was already his only way to live, although the future was uncertain, maybe he would fall into the hands of the Yongjun, or be killed by the Northern Han Army as a traitor, but he was still grateful, kneeling on his knees, Duan Wushu cried: "The princess is kind, the last general will never forget, if the invincible escapes by chance, he will definitely send the message back, the princess has an order, the invincible is all obedient, His Royal Highness is relieved, if the invincible unfortunately falls into the hands of the enemy, Never steal a living. ”

Lin Bizhu was in tears, she had some scruples in her heart, if Duan Invincible fell into the hands of the enemy, I was afraid that she would eventually return to the Yongjun Army, so when she came, she would rather kill Duan Invincible, seeing Duan Invincible so promised, she couldn't help but feel a little guilty in her heart. Lin Bi turned his back, waved his hand gently, and motioned for Duan Wuyi to leave, Duan Wushu bowed again, and finally turned around and left.

After Duan Invincible's figure disappeared, Qiu Yufei, who had been listening to the movement outside in the inner room, showed a pleased smile on his face, just now Lin Bi wanted to push Duan Invincible down and behead him, he had already made up his mind to rob the Dharma Field, and now when he saw Lin Bi let Duan Invincible go, he felt a sigh of relief, and he wanted to go out to meet Lin Bi, but suddenly, his heart moved, and the breath of a person he was familiar with outside the city suddenly appeared, the murderous machine was hidden, and he smiled coldly, his figure turned into an illusion, jumped out of the window of the inner room, and took advantage of the chaos in the city, Chase in the direction of Duan Invincible's departure.

Outside Yangyi City, Xiao Tong, who was standing on the hill, saw Duan Invincible riding out of the city, and couldn't help but be stunned, after the master learned that Lin Bi came to Yangyi in person, he thought about it again and again, and ordered him to rush here to chase Duan Invincible who might be let go by Lin Bi, and now sure enough, he was about to ride a horse to chase after him, when suddenly a cold voice came from his ear: "Senior brother, do you really want to kill them all?" ”

Xiao Tong was stunned, looked up, but saw Qiu Yufei standing with his hands in his hands, he smiled bitterly: "Senior brother, this is the order of the master, no matter whether General Duan is wronged or not, if he falls into the hands of the enemy, it will be a great threat, you can't be merciful." ”

Qiu Yufei said coldly: "General Duan is loyal to the Northern Han Dynasty, although there are rumors all over the world now, but I believe that there will be a time when the truth will come out, and I, like Princess Bi, don't believe that General Duan has two hearts." Even if the master comes in person, I will not let the master do it. Xiao Tong had to smile bitterly, he knew that if he talked about martial arts, he was not the opponent of this junior brother, it seemed that it was impossible to hunt down Duan Invincible, so he had to say: "Since you have come back, go to Jinyang to meet the master." Qiu Yufei said lightly: "Okay, let's go on the road together." Xiao Tong hurriedly said: "I still have military affairs in my body." Qiu Yufei looked at it coldly, and Xiao Tong hurriedly explained: "Don't worry, I swear to the Demon Venerable, if I go to hunt down General Duan, I will be imprisoned in the Demon Venerable Blood Prison after I die, and I will never be able to live forever." It's really a military emergency, and I still have important things to do. Qiu Yufei was silent, since Xiao Tong had made a blood oath of Heavenly Demons, he would definitely not violate it. He turned around and left, and suddenly disappeared, Xiao Tong raised his head and smiled bitterly, he hadn't seen his junior brother for several months, and his cultivation had improved by leaps and bounds, which really embarrassed his senior brother. That's it, since Princess Bi and Yufei both trust Duan Wushu so much, thinking that Duan Wushu is really loyal and unparalleled, why should he be a villain?

;