The sound of rumbling horses' hooves was heard, and a troop of cavalry appeared on the road outside the river beach.

A light-armoured longbow with a slightly inward-facing saber was led by a young man with a large black gun.

The war horse neighed, and He Ruoque looked at Xie Shence, who only brought Wang Jiehua, and frowned.

Three days later, in the early morning of the willow branch pass, the yellowish willow branch has not yet sprouted, and the pedestrians on the road hold the flat burden in their arms, their hands are wrapped in thick jackets, and they say that this year is colder than in previous years, and the temperature will warm up later.

He Ruoque stood in the yard, finished a set of internal boxing, listened to the chirping of birds in early spring, breathed fresh air, and breathed naturally.

Senior Brother turned out of the side door and said, "It's very similar to the orthodox Xiang Jiaquan, but there have been quite a few changes. There are very few people who know this set of boxing now, and even fewer people can recognize it. ”

He Ruoque's eyes were sharp, and he looked at the senior brother coldly.

"I know that you are the remnant of the Great Chu Dynasty, and some of the things that Feng Zhi has been tracking down over the years are probably related to you. You don't have to be nervous, you don't have to be hostile to me, you just feel that you have a heavier burden than me. ”

"What is there that young people can't think of to put a burden on themselves? Family hatred and national hatred? It's been more than 200 years since the fall of the Great Chu Dynasty, what else can't you let go? ”

He Ruoque hung down at his side and stood straight.

If Xie Shence was here, he would be surprised.

It is impossible for the senior brother to judge He Ruoque's more obscure background than the prince of the grassland just by looking at He Ruoque's one set of punches, the remnants of the Great Chu Dynasty. The only possibility is that the elder brother knows something.

When it comes to the Great Chu Dynasty two hundred years ago, Xie Shence doesn't feel so rebellious, what he cares about has always been the whereabouts of the jade seal of the country, or the addition of an ethereal imperial pavilion treasure.

This is also what Emperor Jin also cared about.

He Ruoque looked at the senior brother, and his frowning brows gradually relaxed.

"I remember hearing the old people in the clan say that when the dynasty fell, the dead soldiers of the royal family did not finish dying."

Senior Brother smiled slightly.

"You admit your identity?"

He Ruoque shook his head and said, "This doesn't mean anything. ”

"Don't say that the remnants of the Great Chu Dynasty are the people of Han Zhao Wei, who died in the Jin capital and Qin capital, what are you afraid of?"

He Ruoque was silent.

Senior Brother thought for a moment and said, "The only possibility is that you are carrying a heavy treasure. You are a remnant of the previous dynasty, and this will not put you in a desperate situation, but a lonely person with a secret of the world is like a three-year-old child with a lot of money and trouble, which should be a different matter. I know that Feng used a thing to make a big case a few years ago, if nothing else, that thing is on you, or rather, you know where it is. ”

He Ruoque said: "Mr. Big, you have not recovered from your serious injuries, and you may not be able to walk out of my courtyard." ”

The senior brother smiled slightly: "I have no malicious intent. ”

"I'm just thinking that if you hide so hard, there must be your troubles. I don't want to explore your suffering, that's your personal business. But it's about Fengzhi, I want to figure it out. He is a reckless person, impulsive, and will drill the horns, so some things hurt him a lot. He doesn't know about you, and he may have feelings, but he says a lot about you without looking into you. He's trying to dodge something. ”

"But there are some things that can't be avoided. The more you hide, the more ferocious you come. I'm his big brother, and there are some things he can hide, but I can't. ”

He Ruoque's eyes closed slightly, then opened them suddenly, and said, "Then you can try." ”

Striding forward, He Ruoque suddenly accelerated when he was three steps away from his senior brother, suddenly turned over, and threw out a leg whip with an unbelievable flip.

The elder brother lifted his right foot slightly, then lightly touched the ground, and floated three steps away, barely able to dodge the leg whip.

"You don't have to"

A cannon hammer came straight to the chest of the senior brother.

The elder brother staggered his hands, pressed them slightly, and then attached the fist to it, twisting it like a bone. Remove the strength from the fist.

"I'm worried、I'll say it"

It's another tap. The senior brother dodged again, followed by He Ruoque's torrential attack.

Standing on his feet, the upper body of the senior brother swayed with He Ruoque's attack, but his feet seemed to take root, and he did not move at all. He Ruoque struggled, except for being stuck by the senior brother when necessary, he couldn't touch his body at all.

Draw a circle, split, and the senior brother threw He Ruoque out.

"What kind of punch is this?"

The senior brother smiled slightly: "Tai Chi." ”

He Ruoque frowned, he felt a little familiar.

"Inspired by Fengzhi."

He Ruo was stunned, and there was really this kind of kung fu in the world. Hearing Xie Shence talk about it before, he still scoffed. Now that he really saw it, the kind of elegant, the kind of flowing clouds and water that did not touch the leaves in the thousands of flowers, which shocked him to the extreme.

"Mr. Big has shown mercy."

He Ruoque clasped his hands into fists and saluted.

He could naturally know that the senior brother had left his hand, otherwise he would have been hit by an inch fist the moment he was thrown out.

It can stretch and contract the body to the extent of spontaneity within two steps, and the thunderous inch punch in close hand-to-hand combat is even more unguardable.

He Ruoque sincerely thanked him, and the senior brother returned the gift.

"Regarding my background, I hope that Mr. Big will keep it secret. That thing wasn't with me, and I didn't want it to come out. Once the news is leaked, many people will die, and the Xie family will not be able to get out of it. What's more, that's our race, and I don't want to give it up to others for the last nostalgia for home and country. ”

The senior brother asked, "Are you going to hide it from Feng Zhi all the time?" ”

He Ruoque said: "It is a while to be able to hide it. ”

"Are you really the queen of the royal family?"

The senior brother shook his head and said, "The last dead man is dead, and he is my adoptive father. ”

He Ruoque was silent.

When he was twelve years old, he learned from the old people in the clan that when the Great Chu Dynasty was destroyed, a county king who was patrolling the border army at the border pass escaped. The prince was killed on his way to escape, leaving behind a baby in swaddling clothes. After the rebellion of the guards, the adopted son of the county king desperately rescued the county king and his son and sent them to the imperial aunt who was married to the grassland.

The princess of the Great Chu Dynasty was quite powerful, and soon after marrying off, she took control of the tribe and took in two nephews. Later, he used Li Dai's Taozhuang method to swap his son with his nephew, and successfully retained the last bloodline of the Great Chu Dynasty.

The tribe that the princess married to, after several ups and downs, is the He Ruobu that was destroyed a few years ago. The son of the prince of the county, who was replaced as the prince of the tribe, was the ancestor of He Ruoque.

And the reason why the princess who married a foreign tribe risked being killed by the tribal elders to keep her nephew was entirely because of something brought by the adopted son of the county king.

The jade seal of the country.

He Ruoque now thinks about it, although the old man in the clan said it plainly, but the ancestor's brother was able to steal the heirloom jade seal from the palace, and then evaded the pursuit all the way to the border pass, and then said that the king of the county fled, and finally killed all the traitors, and kept the only blood of his adoptive father, what a hero.

Sometimes the simpler the words, the more thrilling and heart-wrenching. Therefore, among the people He Ruoque admired very much in his life, except for the imperial aunt who gave up his parents and children, he was the adopted son of the county king who had no blood relationship.

The adopted son now has the elder brother in front of him.

And the source of all this is the square seal.

The Great Chu Emperor's vitality should not be extinguished, so some people in the royal family are desperate to leave the jade seal of the country to be restored in the future.

He Ruoque didn't have much thought about returning to the country. Even he felt that even the old man who told him the secrets of his clan had no passion for something like the restoration of the country, which had been repeated for more than two hundred years, and might not even be regarded as a thing at all.

Restoration? The Great Chu Dynasty has been destroyed for two hundred years, what slogan is used to restore the country? The hearts of the people have long been out of the Xiang clan. It is not as direct and effective as a rebellion.

As for the hatred of exterminating the clan, He Ruoque has gradually faded in the northwest over the years.

It is enough to have a family, a sister and a niece.

It doesn't matter if you raise an army to restore your country or take revenge.

Therefore, He Ruoque has always kept the secret of the jade seal. Once the jade seal is born, there will inevitably be a bloody storm. The Xie family will also be implicated because of taking him in, and Xie Shence will be even more difficult. And he didn't want that.

So he hid it.

Until today, it was broken by the elder brother.

The senior brother looked at He Ruo in contemplation like this, and did not bother.

After a long time, He Ruoque said: "I won't let him be born, at least I won't let him cause trouble for that guy." ”

Senior Brother Zhengse said: "I hope you can do it." ”

He Ruo was short-headed, so there was no more words between the two.

Soon after, a sergeant reported that he had woken up.

He Ruoque and the senior brother hurriedly rushed over to visit.

Xie Shence was drinking porridge, in fact, when He Ruoque and Senior Brother arrived, Xie Shence had already drunk five bowls.

"Well, you're too hungry to come."

The two waited for Xie Shence to finish drinking, and dismissed the servants, and the senior brother called for Xie Shence.

"The pulse has stabilized, the body is still very weak, I have slept deeply for the past three days, and we have recovered well, and in two days, we will be able to go on the road."

Xie Shence asked, "Is she awake?" ”

The senior brother sighed slightly and said, "Not yet." ”

Xie Shence frowned, and was about to get out of bed, but was stopped by the senior brother.

"I'm going to see her."

He Ruoque also stopped him, and when he was at a stalemate, a maid came to report that Wang Jiehua had woken up.

Xie Shence was overjoyed and hurriedly got up and got out of bed, but he fell down after just two steps.

People who haven't eaten for a few days and have slept in bed for three days, where do they still have physical strength?

He Ruoque sighed, carried him on his back, and then put him into Wang Jiehua's room by two maids.

After being in a coma for several days, Wang Jiehua woke up with a very bad color, Xie Shence held her hand and smiled stupidly.

Wang Jiehua was a little embarrassed.

"We didn't die, and it's hard to want to die in the future."

So Wang Jiehua also smiled.

Soon after, a servant brought millet porridge, and after a long time, Xie Shence came out tired but very energetic.

The senior brother went to pick up the medicine for the king, and He Ruoque and Xie Shence came to Xie Shence's room.

"Lord Admiral!"

Xie Shence didn't speak.

"Bringing the Admiral's wife to the northwest thousands of miles away, is this elopement, or treason?"

Xie Shence still didn't speak, but said in his heart: I was originally a married person, how can I elope?

"If Mr. Big hadn't arrived early, I'm afraid your old man's head would have been pinned to the waistband of a certain eunuch's trousers at this time."

"I don't have the ability to pretend to be a hero, put half of my life into it, don't say anything else, just these injuries on your body, you don't have a few months of recuperation, don't think about acting neatly."

Xie Shence didn't say a word, and humbly accepted He Ruoque's criticism.

He Ruoque moistened his throat and continued: "You are comfortable running, do you know how many spies in the northwest have died these days?" According to the latest statistics, twelve people died in Shanxi Province alone! ”

"It's just that these people didn't die because they fought with the enemy, but because they were looking for you, the tiger man, who fell for the enemy's tricks and died."

Xie Shence was silent and lowered his head.

He Ruoque said: "You're back, get ready for how to deal with Jindu." The Northwest Army should have discovered that I had transferred the army privately, although there was a warrant from Jiang Qi, it was difficult to guarantee that no one would take the opportunity to make trouble. You are blessed. ”

Xie Shence hurriedly smiled and said, "Yes, yes, what you always say." ”

He Ruoque sneered: "What? Thought I was going to kick me away when I was done? ”

Xie Shence flatly denied it.

He Ruoque didn't expose him either, and said: "I have woken them up and healed them briefly, and now they have been fed with medicine and let you slaughter them." ”

Xie Shence nodded and said, "Don't let them die." ”

He Ruoque sneered again and said, "Dead? They want to! ”

"Well, I know you're worried about me, but you're not so angry, even if you want to avenge me and vent your evil anger, you won't cripple them, I'm still useful."

He Ruoque hummed strangely and said, "Who said I was going to cripple them?" ”

Xie Shence was stunned and said, "Didn't you mean that just now?" ”

He Ruoque said disdainfully: "How could I do such a thing. Your men are here, and he will do it. ”

After He Ruoque finished speaking, he left, leaving behind a confused Xie Shence.

Men? Who is it?

Soon after, Xie Shence saw the comer.

It was Zhuo 14 and Mao Xiaosan.

"Why are you here?"

Mao Xiaosan said: "Adults don't know, it's been more than half a year since I came here. ”

Zhuo Fourteen said: "I have also stayed in the Yuwen Department for a year, and I have only come back in the last two months. ”

Xie Shence frowned. Zhou Jinmian actually released them all?

"What about the others?" Xie Shence asked.

Since these two people have come out, how can Zhou Jinmian only let two out?

"Many people from the Investigation Department came out, although the secretary general didn't say anything, but we all know that he asked us to come out, vacate the Jin capital, and let Wen Chong have no available people. Moreover, if we are here, we can continue to serve the adults. ”

Xie Shence whispered for a moment and said, "It seems that he already knew that it was Wen Chong." ”

Zhuo Fourteen said: "Yes, the Secretary-General had long expected that the next admiral to take over from the Lord would not be him, and he had drawn up four lists, among which Wen Chong was ranked first, which was the most likely. ”

"Who are the other three?"

"The crown prince, Sima Tan, and Xiahou."

Xie Shence smiled bitterly.

The list of four candidates drawn up by Zhou Jinmian must have been considered by Emperor Jin before, Zhou Jinmian is not a roundworm in Emperor Jin's stomach, he is good at figuring out people's hearts, but how could Emperor Jin's mind let him guess casually?

The biggest possibility is that Zhou Jinmian bought off the eunuchs around Emperor Jin, and Emperor Jin said it himself.

Wen Chong, Prince, Sima Tan, Xiahou.

These four people can be said to represent the biggest forces in the Great Jin Dynasty today.

Qi Wang Party, Princeling Party, Sima Party, Ti Qi Division.

In the end, Emperor Jin chose the King of Qi.

It is not difficult to guess the reason for this. The Queen Mother may have played a major role in this.

Xie Shence closed his eyes and said, "Find a way to pull out all the information they know from those two mouths." If you can't dig it out, you can't let them die. ”

Mao Xiaosan and Zhuo Shishi glanced at each other, a little strange.

This is not the usual Admiral.

Useless people are never killed directly?

However, Xie Shence didn't explain, and they didn't dare to ask, so they retreated.

Xie Shence lay on the bed, his fingers lightly clasped the quilt, thinking about what had happened in the past few years, feeling the changes in Zhou Jinmian, and sighing.

"Zizhizi knows that you are the only one who is my confidant, don't play with fire and set yourself on fire."

Three days later, Xie Shence and the others set off and drove to Tiemen Pass under the escort of two hundred cavalry.

Xie Shence sat in the car, next to Wang Jiehua, who was already asleep, he opened the curtains, looked at the blue sky and white clouds in the northwest, listened to the squeak of the car, and thought about what He Ruoque said in the Northwest Army, and his mood was a little heavy.

The Northwest Army is monolithic on the outside, but on the inside, it also has mountains. Some people are not satisfied with the Xie family brothers, and some people resolutely support the Xie family brothers, so there are contradictions.

There were contradictions between the infantry and the cavalry, between the border counties and the inland counties, and between the Tiemen Pass and some border passes.

There are so many things involved in this, Xie Shence thought about it for a whole day, but he couldn't completely sort it out.

Wang Jiehua woke up, looked at Xie Shence, who was rubbing his head, and said, "Are you worried about the Northwest Army?" ”

Xie Shence smiled, regarded as an acknowledgement, and said, "However, that can't be counted as a top priority. We came to the northwest, but we didn't have a name, and there was no news from the Jindu side, so the first thing I did was to let the Jindu side issue an order to 'transfer' me over. ”

Wang Jiehua blinked and said, "You want Your Majesty to admit your mistake." ”

"Yes, it is to make him admit his mistake. And it is an honest admission of mistakes. ”

Thank you for your arrogance. Wang Jiehua was dismissive.

"He can only compensate you in disguise, as for admitting his mistakes, it's delusional."

Xie Shence smiled and said, "How could I not know? It's just that it's too late for him to regret it at this time. If he doesn't express his position, then he will lose face in the end. And you know, our majesty wants to save face the most, so he can't help it. ”

"Admitting mistakes, even more shameless."

"But he couldn't accept it, a northwest that refused the king's order."

A month and a half later, the northwest military intelligence reached the Jindu. The Tuoba Department once again committed the border, the Northwest Army was unfavorable, and Emperor Longyan of the Jin Dynasty was furious.

Half a month later, a holy decree departed from Kyoto to Yangju City.

The holy decree reads that Xie Shence is the minister of the Qin Mission, and has the right to cut first and then play, and immediately rushed to the northwest to supervise the war.

From Yangzhou City, Jindu Road, and then from the Iron Gate Pass of Yangzhou City Road, Xie Shence received the holy decree, and it was already three months later.

At this time, the He Lou Department and the Yuwen Department had already participated in the war.