The wind rises in Qingping 1, the first year of the revival of the Han Dynasty.

In the Spring Festival, Wu Ming served as the acting commander of the Guards Battalion, and on the orders of Tao Yu, he went to Kyoto to negotiate with the Northern Shizu Group headed by Li Tie. Tang Ziou, the head of the household, fully supported it. However, it backfired, and the Northern Shizu Group secretly reached an agreement with Nayanda, the son of the Northern Mengshi who went south. After nearly three months of procrastination and quarreling, he brazenly changed his face. Tang Ziou, the head of the household, vomited blood and died, and when he was dying, he ordered his son Tang Xuan to go south.

Wu Ming escaped from Kyoto under the cover of the Suzaku team's Zheng Lei Fei'er. When he arrived at Hanshui City in Jiangbei, he discovered a shocking conspiracy......

At the same time, the north took advantage of the trend to establish a state, known as the Northern Han Dynasty in history, and set the capital in Kyoto. The five provinces south of the Yangtze River, under the planning of the former governor Zhu Huai, established the Southern Han Dynasty and fixed the capital of Nanning, in order to counter the aggressive posture of the north.

In May of the first year of the revival of the Han Dynasty, Li Tie served as the generalissimo of the Southern Expedition and led an army of nearly 600,000 to launch a southern expedition against the Southern Han Dynasty. The two sides confronted each other across the river for nearly four months, and his son Li Zhong fell for Zhu Huai's plan, suspecting that Beimeng and Nanhan had a private appointment. A rift arose in the already shaky alliance between the Northern Mongolian and Northern Han dynasties.

In September, the northern warships were completed, and the army was divided into three routes: left, center, and right, and forcibly crossed the river to the south. Zuo Ying, who was a staff member of the Prime Minister's Mansion at the time, offered a fire attack. The plan was successful, and the two sides fought to the death, and finally ended in a tragic victory for the Southern Han......

In the far south, however, the wars of the two empires of Nanban and Persia gradually changed. The Persians went on an expedition, and the problem of grain and grass came to the fore again. In June, the national teacher Li Mopa returned to the Southern Barbarians, bringing the news that the Persian national teacher, the Deadwood monk, was seriously injured and escaped. The popularity of the southern barbarians increased greatly, and the remaining mountain dog army used their familiarity with the topography of the Jiyu Forest to frequently harass the Persian grain routes, and the Persians were miserable and gradually became exhausted.

After a period of mobilization, the army of Northern Mongolia unexpectedly stopped. Wu Ming was also puzzled, and he didn't know what conditions the north had reached with Beimeng. Later, I got the news from Zhu Huai, and I learned that the cancellation of the southern movement of Beimeng this time had nothing to do with the Northern Han. It was the Northern Mongolian Emperor who became ill because of overwork, and it is rumored that he has difficulty walking. The interior of Northern Mongolia is also about to rain, and the emperor Helian clan and the crown prince Nayandun sit in the eastern capital of Rizela, have a righteous reputation, and are supported by many court officials. And the prince of real power, Nayanda, with the support of his uncle Hu Yanhai, the right virtuous king, occupied the western capital Lanning. It is supported by many powerful tribal leaders. Beimeng is now too busy to take care of himself, and the plan to go south is stillborn.

At this time, maybe Li Tie also breathed a sigh of relief. In fact, not only him, but the four major forces within the Eastern Han Dynasty all breathed a sigh of relief, after all, if Beimeng really went south now, with the current situation of the Eastern Han Dynasty, no one was sure that they could withstand the Beimeng Iron Cavalry. Once the Northern Han Dynasty was lost, millions of Northern Mongolian iron cavalry took advantage of the situation to sweep the entire Eastern Han Dynasty, and no one could stay out of it.

After the Battle of Hanning, the Southern Han Army's Shangshu Dai Yu personally led the remnants of tens of thousands of sailors to launch a fierce attack on Hanshui. Unexpectedly, the defense of Hanshui City was stronger than everyone expected. Xiahou Tian gathered the defeated soldiers and personally rushed to the city to supervise the battle. The remnants of the army with the momentum of mourning, and the Southern Han pursuers fought fiercely for three days and three nights, because the Jiangnan Navy was too heavy in casualties, and was not well prepared, so it did not gnaw this hard bone, and finally had to retreat.

Although the Battle of Hanning ended, both Han suffered heavy casualties, but Cheng Dù was different. The losses in the north were much greater than those in the south, and for a time they were no longer able to go south, and it was only at this time that the Jiangnan side was really relieved.

However, the Eastern Han Dynasty was still turbulent, and after the power in the north was weakened, the four major forces reached a short-term balance, holding each other back, and war was still on the verge of breaking out.

"Come, good, just drink this medicine."

Wu Ming brought a bowl of medicinal juice to Xuanyuan Ling's bedside, stirred it gently with a spoon, and then blew and blew, carefully bringing it to Xuanyuan Ling's bed. lowered his voice.

Xuanyuan Ling had fallen ill since he saw Tao Yu, but he was afraid of affecting Wu Ming, so he never informed him. It wasn't until the end of the Battle of Hanning that Wu Ming found out that this princess, who had been giggling in the guard camp all day long, had fallen ill. Now that the war is off, he naturally has to find time to take care of it.

Looking at the black and thick medicinal juice, Xuanyuan Ling's eyebrows furrowed, and he said softly: "This thing is bitter and astringent, I don't want to drink it." Wu Ming looked at her thin and pale face, sighed, turned around, took a piece of brown sugar from the table and threw it in, stirred it carefully, and brought it over again: "You can't add any more sugar, you can't melt it if you add more." Okay now, right? ”

Xuanyuan Ling saw that there was no way to avoid it, so he lowered his head and drank with a wrinkled nose. A bowl of medicinal juice, but she drank it for nearly half an hour, Wu Ming patiently waited for her to finish drinking it, then took the bowl, got up and was about to wash. Xuanyuan Ling looked at him quietly, and suddenly shouted, "Brother, I'm afraid you won't take care of me so meticulously in the future." ”

She said that her wedding date with Yuqing is approaching. Wu Ming's heart was sour, he suddenly stopped, turned his head and smiled: "Fool, if there is anything, I will still arrive as soon as possible." How can you say that. Xuanyuan Ling raised his head, his big eyes were already teary, and he slowly shook his head and said: "This is different, the queen mother said, only husband and wife can truly be inseparable." In the future, you and Sister Yuqing get married, so you still have time to accompany me. As he spoke, two lines of tears rolled down his cheeks.

Wu Ming was suddenly startled, hurriedly put the empty bowl on the table, and then rubbed it on the Ming Huang brocade robe, ran over to help her and said, "Xiao Ling, why do you say that?" Recuperate in peace, if you really don't like it, I will go and tell the prime minister tomorrow and ask him to cancel this marriage. ”

Xuanyuan Ling laughed, with a resentful smile on his pale face, which made people feel even more distressed. She propped up her hands, slowly sat up from the bed, sighed and said, "Brother, you sue me, except for all reasons, if you really want to choose between me and Sister Yuqing, who will you choose?" ”

Wu Ming was stunned, speechless for a while.

She smiled bitterly and continued: "In the past year, I have experienced so much and understood a lot. Everyone envies me as the emperor's nobleman, and envy Sister Yuqing for being the darling of Nanning. In fact, who knows that from the moment we are born, our own destiny is not in our own hands, but rises and falls with the country. My sister-in-law is right, when my brother Nanzheng was killed and my father collapsed in Li Tie's coup, my marriage with you has lost its support. And you and Sister Yuqing are the best choice for everyone. ”

"What?" Wu Ming's eyes widened, and he was speechless for a while. He really didn't expect that Xuanyuan Ling, who had always seemed to be insensitive to politics, would suddenly say such a sentence. He walked to the bed, grabbed the other party's hands and said, "Xiaoling, you think too much, I only care for you like a brother." With Yuqing, he is also well thought out, and he does not go against his own heart. ”

Xuanyuan Ling pulled out his hand and said angrily: "What time is it now, you still lie to me?" If the country is not broken, will you disobey the will of your father? I'm afraid now your bride is me. If it weren't for Zhu Huai's strength, would you accept her daughter? ”

Wu Ming was anxious and angry, knowing that the princess of this little girl had a temper again, but he felt ashamed in his heart, and he didn't know how to refute her for a while. Xuanyuan Ling lowered his head and cried for a while, then raised his delicate face like a pear flower with rain, and said quietly: "Brother, I know, I caused you trouble again." My sister-in-law is right, now the entire Southern Han Dynasty urgently needs this marriage to stabilize the situation, and we have no choice now. ”

This was the second time she had mentioned Tao Yu, Wu Ming looked at her in surprise and said, "She said this to you?" ”

Xuanyuan Ling avoided Wu Ming's gaze, turned his head, and looked out the window with a pair of big eyes rippling with tears. Autumn has come, although it is not cold yet, but the weather in Nanning is getting cooler day by day, just like her current mood. The maple trees in the courtyard stood in place dressed in red makeup. like fire, and like blood. After a moment of silence, she turned her head to look at Wu Ming calmly, and said with a light smile: "Brother, I understand what you mean, you just don't want me to worry too much." In the past, I was also puzzled by the changes in my sister-in-law, but now I know that she is really bitter, so don't blame her. ”

Seeing Wu Ming's appearance of wanting to speak and stopping, she stretched out her slender right hand to press Wu Ming's lips, and said softly: "Don't say anything, listen to me quietly?" Luckily? ”

Wu Ming looked at her thin face, and suddenly felt that the other party was so strange. He nodded a little blankly.

"Brother, you are free and uninhibited, and you don't care about anything. You are like a white cloud floating in the blue sky, quietly looking at the prosperous earth under your feet, and when the wind in the sky is strong, you may float away at any time. Your life is very monotonous, just reading books and practicing martial arts every day, and it seems that Kyoto has nothing to do with you. I was very worried, fearing that after another storm that day, I would disappear without a trace, as inexplicably as you came. So, when I was in Kyoto, the first thing I did when I got up was to run over and see if this person who could tell me a story and make me happy was still there. It was a beautiful time. ”

As she spoke, the corners of her mouth curled with a hint of laugh lines, and her eyes were full of longing. Looking at the smile on the corner of the other party's mouth, Wu Ming's heart hurt suddenly, for the first time, he had doubts about the correctness of his promise to marry Zhu Yuqing, if there was no such thing, the girl in front of him should not be sad. Look at the other party's pale face. Wu Ming couldn't help but stretch out his arm, took the other party in his arms, and muttered: "Xiao Ling, it's still that sentence, if you really don't like it, I can push ......it off" No matter what, Xiao Ling's condition is the most important, if you explain the situation to Yuqing, with her empathetic nature, she should also agree.

She was thinner than before, and her body was almost as light as a cloud. Wu Ming hugged it carefully, as if he was holding a delicate work of art. He was really afraid that if he exerted himself a little, this petite and delicate body would suddenly turn into a pile of fragments. There was a sudden coolness on his neck, and something a little wet ran down his skin and slid to his chest. He only felt that the coldness soaked straight into his heart.

Xuanyuan Ling raised his head slightly, tidied up his messy hair slightly, shook his head and said, "Brother, you may not think it yourself, in fact, after you came back from the Southern Expedition, you have changed a lot." Gone, the one who didn't care about anything before. Instead, you're pretending to be full of worries. My brother's dying entrustment, I also know through the mouth of my sister-in-law, these are all imposed on you by our royal family, you can also be a comfortable person, but now you have to fight to protect the last bit of hope in the Eastern Han Dynasty. If I continue to be as willful as I used to be, it will only make your path more difficult. ”

Wu Ming looked at her and muttered, "Are these all Tao Yu suing you?" You're thinking too much. ”

Xuanyuan Ling raised his head, looked at him stubbornly and said, "It's not her to blame, you can understand the truth in it with a little thought." Now the interior of the Southern Han Dynasty is not as stable as it seems from the outside, and Zhu Huai, as a representative of the local forces in the south of the Yangtze River, is actually still very wary of us, the orphaned forces of the previous dynasty. Especially you, holding the Sword of the Son of Heaven, coupled with many legends throughout the history, the people have many expectations for you. But because of this, the Jiangnan forces are incompatible with you. Since the founding of the country, although you have obtained the right to open a government and build a government, has the power of the Guards Battalion been replenished in the slightest? ”

These are all taught by Tao Yu, Wu Ming's heart was on fire, and he couldn't help but say: "That's because it was a war and the Northern Han army was overwhelmed, so the guard battalion had no time to replenish." "The Guards Battalion has been in the Guards Battalion so far, if it weren't for Zhu Yuqing personally asking and replenishing more than two hundred martial artists, it is estimated that it will only fight less and less. Xuanyuan Ling said this, which naturally makes a lot of sense. But in order not to leave some dirty memories in her heart, it is only far-fetched to distort the facts.

Xuanyuan Ling suddenly laughed, probably laughing hard, she coughed lightly twice, with a hint of relief on her face: "You can say this, it proves that you still care about me, and I am content." Sighing, she stubbornly continued: "Once you and Sister Yuqing are combined, you will truly integrate into Jiangnan, only in this way can the Jiangnan forces led by Prime Minister Zhu Cheng truly accept you, recognize you, and help you wholeheartedly." These Jiangnan forces can be your help to move forward, not the thorns on the road ahead. ”

Wu Ming fell into a deep silence, and said that women are as careful as hair, which is true. Perhaps, any intelligent woman has this potential. Xuanyuan Ling was able to say these words, proving that she had really grown up. Some time ago, I rarely saw her. The war is busy and chaotic is one aspect, but in fact, I am also melancholy and panicked in my heart, and I don't know how to speak. Unexpectedly, she said such a thing today, but he didn't have the slightest joy in his heart, just a faint pain. The price of maturity is too high, and I tried every possible way to keep Xiaoling away from the power struggle, but I didn't expect it to fall short in the end.

He sighed, then stood up. Perhaps, as Xiao Ling said, many of the women standing on the top are involuntarily. Tao Yu is like this, and Xuanyuan Ling is like this. Even Zhu Yuqing, if the Southern Han Dynasty is defeated this time, her fate will be much better than the previous two.

I have been trying to keep the upcoming marriage and politics untouched, but now, I feel that it is almost impossible. Every step I take is almost a trigger and move my whole body. Thinking of this, he was a little annoyed in his heart, the marriage with Yuqing was originally a matter of mutual affection, but now it was used by these people. He only felt an evil fire in his heart, and he just wanted to find Tao Yu and scold her to his heart's content, how innocent is Xiao Ling, what does it mean for her to sue Xiao Ling?

He thought about it, carefully supported the other party, and said, "You lie down and rest, don't think too much, everything is still with me." ”

Xuanyuan Ling shook his head, sighed and looked at him and muttered: "Brother, don't go, I want to talk to you more, in the future, your people and hearts will belong to others, I just want to talk to you for a while, talk a little more." ”

Wu Ming's heart suddenly hurt like a knife, he let the other party hug him, listening to her muttering on his shoulder, she recalled the naughty mischief in the Kyoto Imperial Palace before, recalled the laughter and scolding with the prince, and also recalled the bits and pieces with Wu Ming. As he spoke, his voice gradually became quieter. Wu Ming's eyes were moist, and when he came back to his senses, the other party had already put his arms around his shoulders, smiling and falling asleep, but there were vague tears on his face.