On the morning of the second day of the eighteenth section, the south gate of Nanning City.

The golden morning sun of autumn shakes everyone's eyes. The drums beat above the city, reaching into the sky. More than 15,000 soldiers of the Guards Battalion came out of the racecourse, passed through the head of Nanning City, and headed west.

There are two battalions inside and outside the guards battalion, and the inner battalion is four brigades. The inner camp was divided into two, Qinglong and Baihu directly obeyed the orders of the commander's mansion, and naturally they were also among the army. But Xuanwu and Suzaku obeyed the orders of the Queen Mother, and the turmoil after the assassination had not subsided, Tao Yu would only think that the defense force of the imperial palace was not enough, and it would be good if he did not ask Wu Ming to keep people, and he would never send a soldier from the two teams of Xuanwu and Suzaku to help the western expedition. More than 15,000 horsemen came out of the camp and marched westward. The drums at the head of the city are beating and the flags are waving.

Zhu Huai and Zhu Yuqing stood at the head of the city, and the two of them were under a banner and silently watched the team of the Western Expedition. The drums kept beating on everyone's hearts, but the father and daughter had their own tastes.

Wu Ming rode on Nanwang's body, tightened the red night on his body, and put the spear sideways on the horse's back. He glanced back at the prime minister and his wife at the head of the city again, saluted with his spear, and was about to turn around and leave, when a horse suddenly rushed out of the hole in the city gate, and the knight on the horse said loudly: "My lord, wait." ”

Wu Ming fixed his eyes, but the person who came was Yang Xiong. He was stunned, what is the matter with Yang Xiong coming to me now? Just thinking about it, Yang Xiong had already jumped in front of him. Probably running too fast, he reined in the horse, and the horse suddenly stood tall and neighed in pain. He jumped off his horse and saluted, "Your Excellency." ”

Wu Ming laughed, and a trace of warmth passed through his heart. After all, he and Yang Xiong can be regarded as friends in trouble, Tao Yu is now very alienated from himself, and he, the Xuanwu team, is coming to see him off, and he will definitely be blamed by Tao Yu when he goes back. He hurriedly hung the spear on his horse, jumped off the horse and said, "Brother Yang, it's really an honor for you to come to see me off." ”

Yang Xiong glanced at the army that was leaving, but the longing in his eyes couldn't be hidden, and he sighed and said, "My lord, my subordinates are here to wish you a victory." As he spoke, he bowed respectfully.

Wu Ming hurriedly helped him up and said, "Brother Yang, you're polite." Yang Xiong raised his head and said suddenly: "My lord, are you sure about this expedition to the west?" ”

The Guards Battalion is nominally a whole, and although Yang Xiong is a four-rank general, he has no real power in his hands. The representative of the Guards Battalion could only be Wu Ming, so he did not participate in the military discussion. In front of him, Wu Ming really didn't want to slap his swollen face and become fat, so he smiled bitterly when he heard this: "I won't tell you, I'm not sure, but fortunately, all the prime minister asked for was to drag Liao Shi." There must be a road before the car reaches the mountain, and I also take a step to see a step. ”

Yang Xiong looked around and whispered: "On the Tsushima grassland, it is extremely flat, there is almost no cover, and the speed of the cavalry is extremely fast. ”

He spoke very quietly, surrounded by noisy voices and rumbling drums. Everyone thought that the two were saying goodbye, so naturally they didn't doubt him. Wu Ming said: "This is natural, but if you want to hold Liao Shi's cavalry, if you calculate it, there will only be the cavalry of our guard battalion." As he spoke, he glanced at Zhu Huai at the head of the city, thinking that the other party gave him such an important task, although he was not sure, he was inevitably a little proud in his heart.

Yang Xiong sighed and said, "My lord, the Guards Battalion has worked hard for the past few years to have such strength. Can you just bear to pull it out like this and fight it all out? When the time comes, how will we stand on our feet? ”

These words were like a bucket of cold water, pouring Wu Ming from head to toe. When he looked up, he saw that Yang Xiong was also looking at him with blazing eyes. He thought for a while, and said, "I don't know what plan Brother Yang can teach me?" ”

Yang Xiong shook his head and said, "I'm not Prime Minister Ouyang, so I can make a strategy in three steps." But I know that with your temper, you won't listen to what you say to preserve your strength. So I can only build yì for you. ”

Although Wu Ming's face did not move, his heart was full of thoughts. Yang Xiongxu was worried about the safety of his 15,000 foreign brothers, and he didn't pay attention to the language in his words at all. If he tried his best to preserve his strength, he must have been instructed by Tao Yu to speak to him. However, he is now separated from her by the boss, and it is really rare that Tao Yu will come to care about him.

As he thought, the smile on his face gradually appeared, and a trace of warmth rippled in his heart. Just as he was about to say two words of thanks, he suddenly saw Yang Xiong's stumbling appearance. There was a sigh in his heart, no, if Tao Yu really cared about himself, Yang Xiong would definitely not care so carefully, when he explained to Yang Xiong, he must have said a lot of things that were inconvenient for him. It's just that he thought about it, but he still couldn't figure out what Tao Yu meant.

The thought turned in his heart, and he still said in his mouth: "Brother Yang, it's okay to say it." ”

"The way of cavalry warfare is to give priority to a momentum, and if you win, you will have enough morale, and the courage of the three armies will be doubled. On the Tsushima steppe, the traditional guerrilla and fortified defense will definitely not work. Offense is the best defense, and only by attacking can there be a glimmer of life and survival in the midst of death. ”

Regardless of whether Yang Xiong was sent by Tao Yu to slander himself, but these words were extremely pertinent, Wu Ming bowed sincerely and said: "Brother Yang's golden jade good words, the kid has written it down." ”

Yang Xiong looked at Wu Ming, and after a long time, he sighed and said, "My lord, you are becoming more and more like a general now." During this time, I also asked myself if I could do a better job than you if I were in your position. Speaking of this, he smiled bitterly and said, "However, self-knowledge tells me that if you don't deceive yourself, the answer is definitely not." ”

Yang Xiong is full of loyalty, so what ambition is there. The so-called self-questioning must have been instigated by Tao Yu. Wu Ming touched his nose and said with a smile: "Brother Yang is polite." ”

Yang Xiong shook his head and continued: "The benevolence and righteousness in your bones make everyone, including your opponents, feel very at ease with you. Know that as long as you don't do anything that violates your bottom line, the sword in your hand will always be in its sheath and will not endanger anyone. What's even more rare is that you don't have the bad customs of those families, and you love people's words......"

The more he talked, the more unpleasant Wu Ming became, and quickly stopped him and said, "Okay, okay, Brother Yang, don't shoot me, if you keep talking, I can float directly to the Tsushima grassland, and even save my leg strength." I didn't expect to see you for a while, but your sycophant kung fu has risen sharply. ”

This joking sentence made Yang Xiong laugh too, he sighed, and the last sentence still couldn't hold back: "This may be an important reason why the prime minister and the mother are relieved to give up the right in your hands." ”

As soon as he said this, Wu Ming only felt a hula, and the layers of doubts surrounding his heart suddenly ran away. remembers that before he and Xiaoqing got married, Tao Yu specially persuaded himself to accept this marriage. At that time, when she gave the reason, she integrated into the Jiangnan family and developed her strength. But after he got married, due to the separation of the prime minister, he had a dislike with her. With her shrewdness, she must have anticipated this possibility. In this way, it is also in her calculations to become independent of a third-party force.

He couldn't help but shake his head and secretly smiled bitterly, maybe Yang Xiong was right. Both the mother and the prime minister know their own personalities, and they know that no matter how powerful they are, they will not be in any danger to them. His reputation as a "bad good person" seems to have become a talisman sometimes.

Suddenly, he froze. Now above the court, although the power of the emperor and queen party has increased greatly, it is still much inferior to the prime minister, once he and the mud fall, the contradiction between the mother and the prime minister will have no buffer, and the needle tip will definitely be defeated. It seems that Yang Xiong persuaded himself to preserve his strength, I am afraid it is really Tao Yu's heartfelt words. Thinking of this, the touch in his heart gradually faded, and he said lightly: "Okay, does Brother Yang have any other instructions?" I'm leaving. ”

Yang Xiong was stunned, probably a little bit puzzled by Wu Ming's sudden change of attitude. He thought about it, took out a book from his arms and said: "My lord, the gun is the king of a hundred soldiers, inch long and strong, fight immediately, Chixiao is inconvenient after all." My subordinates will give you this copy of "The Twelve Essentials of the Yang Family Gun", hoping to help you in your expedition to the west. ”

"What?"

Wu Ming was taken aback, and repeatedly excused himself: "Brother Yang, the "Twelve Essentials of the Yang Family's Gun" is a secret that the Yang family does not pass on, how can it be given away indiscriminately, it is unacceptable." Yang Xiong sighed, slapped the book heavily in his hand, and made a rare joke: "Don't worry, this is just a manuscript, and the original is here." "He's obviously talking nonsense, what everyone cares about is the content of this book, not the hand-copied or original, what does it matter?

Wu Ming still had the leisure to make fun of him, holding the book, but he was almost in tears. I have known Yang Xiong for almost four years. At that time, in order to trick him into taking refuge in Tao Yu, he also played some careful thoughts. Four years have passed, but he has become Tao Yu's confidant, but he has inexplicably established his own power. But Yang Xiong's down-to-earth mind has never changed, and he often guesses at him. He put the book in his arms and said: "Brother Yang, we are brothers of life and death who came back from the southern expedition together, if I want to refrain again, it will be hypocritical, I won't say much if I am grateful, but I still want to thank you." ”

Yang Xiong saw that he accepted the book, but there was a smile in his eyes, and he breathed a sigh of relief and said: "My lord, you have to fight for it, your subordinates will wait for your triumphant return, and we will drink together." ”

Wu Ming also laughed: "Okay, Sister Fei'er's cooking, I haven't tasted it for a long time." When the time comes, you will not be allowed to pay for your guests. ”

When Lei Fei'er was mentioned, Yang Xiong also looked happy, and said with a smile: "My lord, don't have fun." Madame's cooking skills can be described as a masterpiece, and compared with it, it is tantamount to a feast buckle bell. You must have developed your taste now, and it will taste like chewing wax, so don't dislike it. ”

After Yang Xiong and Lei Fei'er got married, one of them was a descendant of Humen and the other was the spokesperson of the Holy Land. naturally became Tao Yu's henchman. In the past few years, Wu Ming and the two of them have become increasingly rare. The few people who came back together from the Southern Expedition, Tian Hong and his wife were transferred to Fuzhou by Zhu Huaiyuan to train spirit beast soldiers, and they could only write letters occasionally, and they didn't know if they could see him during this Western Expedition. Although Ge Yi is a slave of the Zhao family, he used to have a lot of discord with himself. But in the past few years, he has worked hard and managed the Qinglong and White Tiger second teams with Yang Yi in an orderly manner, but he has come closest to himself. In fact, Yang Xiong and his wife should also value their relationship with the other teams, otherwise, he would not have come to deliver his books.

Like Tian Hong, Jian Feiyang likes to talk about everything. And Ge Yi and Yang Xiong like to be stuffy in their hearts. Wu Ming was greatly moved and held his hand: "Yes, I will definitely come back safely, you can prepare the banquet." ”

The two looked at the same time, only to find that each other's eyes were shining with tears.

"Knock-knock-" The drums became more and more urgent, Wu Ming looked up, and saw that the team was almost gone, Ge Yi and Yang Yi were riding on horses with a large group of soldiers from the Guards Battalion, surrounding him and Yang Xiong in the middle of the road, obviously still waiting for him. He and Yang Xiong slapped each other's palms and said loudly: "Brother Yang, I'll go first, you have to worry about the safety of Humble Jing." ”

Now that the two teams of Qinglong and White Tiger are pouring out, the guards of the Commander's Mansion are naturally only Xuanwu and Suzaku to do it. Yang Xiong nodded and said with a smile: "This is natural." ”

Wu Ming put on his helmet, thought about it, and finally asked softly: "You go to sue Sù Niangniang, the Western Expedition is related to the century-old plan of the imperial court, and I hope that Niangniang also understands this and tries her best to cooperate with the prime minister." ”

Yang Xiong choked and said, "My lord, don't worry." Niangniang is quite assertive, not the kind of person who has long hair and knows short. Please rest assured. ”

Receiving his affirmative answer, Wu Ming was greatly relieved. Beckoning to his wife at the head of the city again, he pulled out the red night and pointed in the air, "Let's go." Five hundred soldiers of the Guards Battalion shouted in unison, and they surrounded him and caught up with the cavalry in front of him, and marched towards the west.

The sound of horses' hooves from near and far, and the sound of drums, rolled through the sky like muffled thunder, all the way to the west. In the sound of drums, Zhu Yuqing stood at the head of the city, looking at the tall back of the galloping horse, and his eyes were already full of tears.

※※※ Weicheng is light and dusty towards the rain, and the guest house is green and willow-colored.

Persuade you to have a glass of wine, and there is no reason to go out of Yangguan in the west.

Many people believe that the allusion to the west out of Yangguan comes from here. In fact, it is not the case, the west out of Yangguan should be King Zhou Mu at the earliest.

Liezi? King Mu of Zhou" recorded: "King Mu is not sympathetic to the country, is not happy with his concubines, travels recklessly, and lives to ride eight horses...... Sui bin in the West Queen Mother, on the Yao Pond, the West Queen Mother for the Son of Heaven Yao, the king and the word, his words are sad.

King Mu of Zhou rode eight horses and met the Queen Mother of the West. Our nerd protagonist drove the seven-stage horse king, rushed all the way over, what will he bump into.

It's less than 4,000 words, don't say I'm cheating money. Hehe.