3028 B.C., a late winter night.

The vast snow fell in Anling, the Changjun of the Western Wu Kingdom, and the cold north wind whirled by.

In the air conditioning, there were occasionally a few dog barks, tearing through the calm night sky like a magic spell.

In front of the Changle Palace at the head of the city, the dim light of the octagonal palace lamp projected the battle flags embroidered with green dragon and white tiger patterns on both sides of the palace on the red palace wall. Banners hunted on the city's head, and the sound of beating was heard from far and near outside the city gate, and a sharp-eyed goshawk sang a song and flew south......

When the rows of mighty forbidden troops change the guard, they will drink a sip of spirits, one to protect the body, and the other to refresh the mind. At the entrance of each street, the commander of the forbidden army on duty explained the matters that should be paid attention to to the other commander of the forbidden army who changed the guard, and hurried away tremblingly.

Suddenly, a fierce dog bites a bloody bamboo slip and gallops towards the patrolling forbidden army. Suddenly, this situation, and the strong smell of blood from Chaoyang Road suddenly made Second Lieutenant Jing Fan frown, and his heart was terrified.

"It's not good, there's a change in the city!" Jing Fan has been like his father who has been guarding the border for a long time, if there is a little abnormality or even turmoil around him, he will really yell at his subordinates behind him, "Get on the horse, let's go ......."

"These two lines of forbidden troops will follow me, and the rest will defend the outer city," he said, stepping on his horse and whipping up. Then, he glanced at Chaoyang Road, and then reprimanded: "Set off to Chaoyang Street, where hundreds of officials live."

The sound of iron hooves was accompanied by the sound of the forbidden army's neat running, and the echoes of the empty houses on both sides of the street were echoing, and the front seemed to be a war without gunpowder, and the depressed and rapid air suddenly became hot.

The jujube red war horse caught the murderous aura that permeated the dark night before him, and its galloping four hooves suddenly stopped in front of the Taiwei Wu Zheng, and no matter how much Jingfan whipped, he didn't want to take a step forward. Jing Fan tightened the reins of his horse and looked back, such a brave and warlike man, but he was so frightened that he leaned over and almost fell off the horse.

The mighty lion in front of the Taiwei's mansion didn't seem to stop the killer's footsteps. Jing Fan dismounted and took a closer look, only to feel that his eyes were dark, and he suddenly felt like a lost soul. I saw Wu Zheng's bloody head hanging high in the center of the door, and the blood had solidified into purple. The bodies of seven or eight guards were lying in front of the door and behind the door, Jing Fan turned around and walked to a place, in front of the guards with seven or eight sword wounds, only to see that the mouth full of blood was wide open, and it seemed that he didn't even have time to scream out at the end, and was pierced through his chest by the chaotic sword behind him......

Jing Fanton was extremely angry, he stepped on the snow a few times, while holding the cold hilt tightly, and muttered in his heart: "A group of cold executioners, one day, when my sharp sword is seen again, it will be the moment when you are in a different position."

When the words fell, he was suddenly stunned, as if he remembered something. shouted, "Captain Wu, it's too late for the next official." Jing Fan suppressed the guilt in his heart, and shouted with tears in his eyes: "There must be assassins within a radius of twenty miles from the city, and the left forbidden army will draw ten people, and the right forbidden army will draw ten people, and search around, even if you dig three feet into the ground, you will also wipe out this group of beasts." With that, he shook off his horsewhip fiercely and added: "The deputy commander of the Right Forbidden Army will stay, and the last four members of the Right Forbidden Army will also stay." ”

Jing Fan led them into the mansion, and before they were in the middle hall, a strong smell of blood came to his nose, and he took a closer look to see that Wu Zheng's eldest son Wu Fan also fell in a pool of blood in the front hall, his body was stiff, but his blazing eyes were still glaring at the sky. Jing Fan's heart felt like oil was burning again, and his left hand held the hilt of the sword tightly. At the same time, he glanced at the deputy commander of the right forbidden army, only to see the deputy commander of the right forbidden army striding and trotting, leaning over to Wu Fan, and muttering in a low voice: "Deputy Second Lieutenant Wu, today's hatred will be remembered for the rest of my life, and if I don't destroy the thief for a day, I won't be happy for a day," while lightly compressing his open eyes.

"Okay, the commander of the Right Forbidden Army doesn't flick if he has tears, your tears should be the tears of celebration that capture these executioners, not ......" Jing Fan said sharply.

"No, second lieutenant, it's the snow-white earth that makes my eyes sick again, that's why I cry......" The commander of the Right Forbidden Army immediately stood up and said mightily.

And just as the long words of the Right Forbidden Army fell, Jing Fan felt that something was abnormal, so he bypassed the pool of blood and went straight to the west wing of the back hall, otherwise, a child's crying and crying came from the east wing. Suddenly, before they could gain a firm foothold in front of the door of the West Wing, Jing Fan drew his sword and waved his martial arts: "You four forbidden troops go to the East Wing, and you and I enter the West Wing, Commander of the Right Forbidden Army, quickly!" ”

Jing Fan didn't have to think about it, so he and the right forbidden army commander rushed into the west wing, he looked around for a week, found that everything in the room was intact, there was no scene of fighting, suddenly, he was startled, turned around and ran to the study of Wu Taiwei in front of the west wing, only to see the faint fire in the octagonal palace lamp in front of the case dying, Wu Zheng's body leaned on the side of the case. Blood spurted out of his chest, staining the purple crane with patchwork. Looking around the room, there are only a few bamboo slips, and there is nothing abnormal. Jing Fan was stunned for a moment, and said to himself: "Based on my experience in judging cases on the spot for so many years, if I guess correctly, the assassin's assassin is the captain, not others. ”

The four forbidden soldiers hurriedly ran into the study room of the middle hall and reported with their hands: "Second Lieutenant, there is nothing abnormal in the east wing, and the lady and the little lieutenant are fine." ”

Jing Fanhu said suspiciously: "It's really okay!" He gripped the sword tightly again, "As I expected, it was. ”

Jing Fan stepped forward and approached the captain, his eyes full of angry flames.

"You four forbidden troops stay here and guard this place, and no one is allowed to enter without my order."

"No, please rest assured, lieutenant, we will stick to this place every step of the way."

"Deputy Right Forbidden Commander, let's go to the living room of the middle hall and have a look." As soon as Jing Fan's words fell, Wu Taiwei's wife rushed in with her youngest son Wu Wei, who was not yet eighteen months old.

"Plop", I saw Mrs. Wu kneeling on the ground, she cried and cried: "Jing-Shao-Lieutenant, when Master Wu was killed, I was bathing my youngest son Wu Wei in the east wing, and I only heard the sound of bamboo tubes scattered in the direction of the study in the middle hall, I wanted to go out to take a look, but just about to leave, little Wu Wei cried, I wanted to ...... But he never expected Master Wu, he ......", Mrs. Wu's cry howled like Meng Nu crying down the Great Wall, and Wu Wei also began to cry.

Jing Fan stretched out his five fingers, pinched his hands, and shouted: "This group of wild birds and beasts is really so shrewd!" ”

Everyone was puzzled, so they asked, "Captain, why are you so surprised?" ”

"This group of wild birds and beasts chose to change the guard at the time of the change of the two forbidden armies, because the previous group of people insisted on patrolling during the day, and when the guard was changed, the forbidden army was not vigilant due to the cold weather, plus the extreme fatigue of the body, so the actions of this gang were mysterious and neat, and the new forbidden army who came to change the guard has not yet increased their vigilance, so Captain Wu has no defense." Jing Fan angrily chopped his feet and shouted.

This is a premeditated killing, these cruel killers, they not only killed the prestige of the court Wu Taiwei, but even more murderous, but actually hung Wu Taiwei's head high in the door, what do they mean? What does their master mean?

In the face of this sudden murder, Jing Fan ordered: "Deputy Right Forbidden Army Commander, you go to the living room of the middle hall to have a look, he glanced at the other four forbidden soldiers, and the two of you followed." ”

Jing Fan glanced at Taiwei Wu, and didn't have time to sort out his thoughts, so he waved his hand to one of the remaining forbidden troops and ordered: "You go and inform the forbidden army outside, saying that Second Lieutenant Jing has ordered twenty or thirty forbidden troops to be quickly transferred to Wu Mansion on Chaoyang Road, quickly!" ”

The man was about to turn around and run out, "Wait," Jing Fan added.

He took out the talisman from his belt, walked over and handed it to the man: "If they do not obey the order, you will gather the order and go quickly." The man took the talisman and ran out in a hurry.

……

Twenty or thirty footwork were neatly arranged in front of the study in the middle hall.

"The first five forbidden soldiers, you wrap the body of Taiwei Wu tightly in silk and carry it to the bamboo garden in front of the middle hall, and the rest of the people immediately take care of the courtyard." Jing Fan commanded as he strode out of the living room of the central hall.

He was about to turn around and leave, but without comment, he saw a person fall on the stairs on the west side of the living room in the central hall.

Jing Fan didn't realize it, he had already walked up to him. He subconsciously lowered his head, but saw that there was a scattered bamboo slip in the bright red pool of blood, and then took a closer look, the two sword wounds on his hand made him suddenly startled, and the bamboo slips in the pool of blood were accidentally scattered when he fought with the assassin. Looking at the sword wound on the servant's hand again, he couldn't feel sour in his heart. It was as if he was standing not far from him, carefully witnessing everything in front of him, but he couldn't do anything about it.

He carefully unfolded the bamboo slip, and saw a few lines of bloody text, which read:

Since his grandfather, he has been loyal to the court of Great Wu. Today's thorns are all expected by the ministers. Although the minister died, the crime did not lie with the assassin, but with the conspiracy behind him? Up to the Xiyueguan Frontier, down to the streets and alleys of Anling in Chang County, my Great Wu Kingdom will be glorious for eternity, and the assassins can withstand my Great Wu? The thief's plot is to use the ministers to open the knife, mess with my heart, and confuse my people. The minister is intrinsically dead, but he can fall into the hands of the rebellious ministers and thieves for my great Wu Jiangshan, and the minister has no regrets, but he only thinks that His Majesty and the prince will catch the head of the thief, so as not to protect the safety of other colleagues.

Looking at the bloody lines and powerful words, he remembered the scene of Taiwei Wu's court, who had directly advised the emperor on good policies again and again, and he seemed to see Wu Zheng's sharp and melancholy eyes looking directly at him. The words were a little blurred with blood, but the neat and smooth writing spoke of the minister's loyalty and anxieties.

He was impressed by Taiwei Wu's affectionate admonition, and suddenly, a heavy sense of guilt seemed to come to his heart, and he felt extremely ashamed.

"Taiwei Wu, the pillar of the country, the beam of the people, and the loyalty of the court," he shouted to the sky.

……

"Report, second lieutenant, the courtyard has been cleared, what else do you have to order?" The Ten Forbidden Soldiers stood in a line and said in unison.

He looked from afar, and the courtyard was neat, just like the majestic Wu Mansion in the past.

Jing Fan's gaze locked on the bamboo slip, and suddenly a lightning bolt crossed his mind, according to his judgment, the assassin's assassination plan, not only this time, there must have been assassins who wanted to observe him for many days, but for some reason, he didn't start......

"If I'm not mistaken, this group of assassins should still be within a radius of about twenty or thirty kilometers here, and you ten people will obey the order to slow down as soon as possible."

As soon as Jing Fan's words fell, Mrs. Wu hugged her crying little son and greeted her, her pale face was as pale as a green pear. "Second Lieutenant Jing, the assassin of Master Wu, its mastermind is in Luoyang, Xiguan?

Jing Fan was taken aback and cross-examined: "Madam, how can you see it?" ”

After Jing Fan's words fell, Mrs. Wu took out a bamboo slip from her sleeve, "Second Lieutenant Jing, this is when you just went out, I came to the front of Master Wu's case, and I saw that he was holding a bamboo slip tightly in his hand, I found that the bamboo slip was not used by the old man, I took it out with difficulty, and saw that on the back of the bamboo slip, it was written 'Luo Liang Life'." ”

Jing Fan took a step forward and took the bamboo slip from Mrs. Wu's hand, only to see a few lines of eye-catching words come into view.

"Now, above the court, the position of the prince is not the master, but there is a person who has repeatedly admonished him and has a deep opinion on the lord, so the king ordered you to go to Changjun quickly, take his life, and hang his head in front of the mansion, and then kill Zhang Wang Li Chen Liang and other ten people. Luo Liang life. ”

He stared at the bamboo slips with his eyes, and suddenly a shocking scene appeared in his mind, as if it happened yesterday.

White clouds and dogs, time flies. I remember that it was the first pilgrimage day when the War of the Seven Kingdoms had just subsided, in order to wish the Great Wu Dynasty a great victory of the Seven Kingdoms. On that day, Huo Gang held a banquet in Taihe Palace to welcome the wind for hundreds of officials. During the banquet, Empress Dowager Jing proposed that Huo Gang should fulfill the promise of the first emperor to appoint Huo Yong as the prince. Who knows, on the day of the big day, Huo Gang heard the words of the Empress Dowager Jing, and was furious on the spot, threw away the half-drunk wine bottle casually, and shouted with a black face: "The queen's intention is Your Majesty, which minister is the same as the queen mother?" ”

As soon as the emperor's words fell, Wu Zheng tidied up his clothes, looked around the hall with blazing eyes, and then said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, the Queen Mother, the minister thinks that the Empress Dowager Jing is reasonable, and it was the intention of the first emperor to make Huo Yong the prince, but ......"

The Queen Mother's heart seemed to be surging with black blood, and she said angrily: "Wu Zheng, this is a Huo family matter, how can you be ashamed." ”

At this time, Huo Gang had a surge of blood in his heart, he picked up a glass of strong wine and swallowed it painfully, and said with his hands and feet: "What Wu Aiqing said is what I said. ”

Because only a few steps away, Huo Gang had already found that when his words fell, Empress Dowager Jing's face was completely bloodless. Wu Zheng secretly glanced at Huo Gang and also at the Queen Mother, but he was not timid, and continued to admonish: "The ministers read the "Spring and Autumn Period" and "Four Books and Five Classics" at night Since Pangu opened the world, including the three emperors and five emperors, they are all the ones who fight the world. If you don't give in to family affection, such as Song Xuangong gave up his son Yuyi and established Mu Gong, Mu Gong gave up his son Feng and established Yuyi, and then Feng and Yuyi fought for the country, and the world was in chaos......"

"Okay, Wu Zheng, are you Yu Gang'er and Yong'er in the past? Could it be that my Great Wu Huo Dynasty will lose in the battle for the prince? Empress Dowager Jing leaned over to Wu Zheng and said sternly with a sneer.