About half an hour later, Lian Po and Long He finally rushed to Qianjiangling with the remnants of the Hundred Beast Legion and rescued the people who were still alive after the catastrophe.

In the early morning background, Liu Bang, who looked sluggish, was helped up from the ground by Long He, and when countless soldiers asked where Xiang Yu was, he just repeated the trembling sentence in his mouth: "It's dawn...... It's dawn......"

Han Shin and Miyamoto, who were seriously injured and asleep, were carried on the stretcher one by one, and Mozi, who was severely burned to the point of shock, was also found out of the soil, and Er Ash only wailed softly after hearing the howls of many gray wolf companions, but Bian Que clutched the magic dragon crystal in his hand and suddenly began to be grateful for life.

As for Zhang Liang, he lost all his strength after shouting for more than ten minutes, and lay down in a coma in silence, forgetting even the instinct of spilling out the demon blue levitation, and lying completely on the ground, unable to wake up.

Of course, Mulan is really no longer there......

At the same time, on the eastern periphery of Qianjiangling, countless roars sounded shockingly, but the black wings that filled the sky all turned back.

The tyrant dragon group spontaneously returned to the ancient times in the aftermath of the war, and Yu Ji and the old man also lay on the backs of the white night dragons who were traveling with them.

Finally, when the unknown man wearing the dragon mask also lit up the tearful amber in his hand in the western pine forest, it really all ended.

The prophesied verdict is over, the Great War of Qianjiangling is over, and the thousand-year-old chaos of Qin and Chu is over.

The wind rises on the earth, and the story of Yun Cong Qin Chu ends here, but the world of life continues.

Some people die, erasing the past, and some are alive, carrying hope.

Some people are unswerving in the parting of love, some have no regrets on the path of faithfulness, some are singing heroically in the death of destiny, and some are blind to the obstacles of the world.

Some people have experienced the dark night on the battlefield of catastrophe, and some people have played tomorrow behind the scenes of the times...... Someone...... There's always someone to ......

As long as there are people, there are stories to be born......

——Jinyuan Chibi——

Jiangdong is passing away, and the waves are crashing on the shore.

There is an independent corner of the reef in the center of the river basin of the rolling river, which is three zhang high and more than ten zhang long and wide. The waves are not moving, and the waves are not traceable.

There is a circle of circular inlays with a diameter of seven meters on the reef, and a stone statue of a unicorn stands in it. Under the hoof is a pool full of clear shallow springs, the waves are slight, and the breath is refreshing.

At this moment, directly south of this corner of the reef, only twenty meters away in the water of the stormy river, there is a regular-class sailor ship floating at anchor. The troops above are fully loaded, the organs are fully open, the momentum is majestic, and it is as immobile as a mountain. A big banner waving up to the sky in the long wind, Zheng Zheng clearly printed only one "Wu" word.

The man in red stood in front of the boat with his hands behind his back, and any three thousand green silks danced in the wind.

There was an incense burner next to it, and the ashes were filled with eight pillars of incense side by side, three of which had been completely burned out.

The man waited for a full three incense sticks, and he had been waiting for the change of the stone statue unicorn on the Dujiao.

Before he came, he had made a small bet with the villager, betting that the incense would not burn the fifth pillar. Now there was only a gap between the sticks of incense, but he still looked at it calmly, and there was no worry on his face.

Finally, after more than ten minutes, when most of the fourth pillar of incense had been burned, the spring pool on the Dujiao finally bloomed with a ray of light.

The man saw the subtle light, and the corners of his mouth raised silently.

However, under the hooves of the unicorn, Hongguang was startled, and with a flurry of light and darkness in the dimensional space, a man in a white robe appeared through the space in a seven-meter-long and wide spring pool.

The unknown man wearing the dragon mask had returned from Qin Chu's catastrophe, and with a happy mood, he barely thought about what trouble he could encounter on the way. But when he raised his gaze to see what he saw, he found himself surrounded by enemies.

He was actually guarded by the rabbit!

Almost instantly, all emotions were swallowed up by a sense of crisis. The unknown man was wrapped tightly in a white robe, and the right hand hidden in it had awakened the weapon, and the face hidden under the mask of the ferocious dragon was unadorned and grim.

The firepower of an entire regular-class warship was completely beyond the range of power he could resist, and the person who stood at the bow of the ship and personally led the warship was still an existence that he was afraid to face...... In this situation, you can know that once the soldiers are fighting, he has no chance of winning at all!

"It's planted! Knowing that Chibi was in the territory of the Wu forces, he was even defenseless when he came back with the Return to the Source Order! The unknown man gritted his teeth and regretted silently. Although he was not a person who was afraid of facing danger, he felt a chill in his heart when he thought that he was still responsible for the task entrusted by Kong Ming and the letter handed over by the old man of Fengqi Mountain.

However, just when the unknown person's heart was extremely entangled and his expression became more and more serious, the long-haired man standing alone on the bow of the ship spoke up.

"General Zhao doesn't need to panic." He brushed his hand to extinguish the fourth pillar of incense that was about to burn out next to him, and then looked at the hideous and vicious dragon mask on the head of the unknown person, and continued to speak calmly.

"I have an appointment with Zhuge Kongming, and I am here to escort the general - to cross the red cliff safely."

Kong Ming?! Kong Ming specially prepared it?!

Hearing the long-haired man's extremely contradictory words, the unknown man's pupils were dilated in an instant, and even the hand holding the weapon couldn't help but tremble.

In his memory, he remembered that Kong Ming had mentioned in the bag that he would arrange someone to meet him in Chibi...... It's just that he didn't expect that the helper Kong Ming found this time would be so weighty, and it was so "unimaginable".

However, seeing the other party's calm demeanor and tone with his own eyes, he really couldn't find anything suspicious, not to mention that the other party's man would definitely not bother to bring up Kong Ming's name to play tricks - so since the other party said so, it can basically be concluded that it is true.

Although it was hard to believe when you thought about it, out of reason, the unknown man still let down his excessive vigilance, exhaled lightly, and bowed solemnly to the long-haired man on the ship.

"Then there is the Governor of Lao Zhou."

——Tang Cao Dali Temple——

At a quarter of noon, the scorching sun was hanging.

Di Renjie, the general secretary of Dali Temple, walked briskly on the corridor of the deliberation area, followed by twelve sweaty attendants holding documents in their arms.

The bright sunlight shone down from the eaves, shining on their panic all the way.

"When did Your Majesty arrive?" Only Di Renjie maintained his usual composure, and although his figure was eager, his tone remained calm.

"Twelve o'clock at noon." The attendant closest to Di Renjie immediately lifted his official hat and replied truthfully, "Your Majesty's visit this time is very sudden, without any advance notice. The people arrived when the news arrived, and now His Majesty had been drinking tea in the council chamber for fifteen minutes......"

"I see." Di Renjie interrupted the nervousness of the waiter who wanted to go on again, and continued to ask, "When was the specially approved Tianzi-level deliberation draft delivered to the palace this morning?" ”

"My lord, at eleven o'clock, the two deliberation drafts were handed to the Xuanwu Hall and Lingyan Pavilion of the Ming Palace on time—it is said that His Majesty opened the sealed manuscripts at the Xuanwu Palace......" Another attendant close to Di Renjie immediately said.

Di Renjie's face was calm, but his eyes flashed imperceptibly.

The headquarters of Dali Temple is located in the southern suburbs of Chang'an City, and Tang Ming Palace is located in the center of Chang'an City, the two places are separated by almost half of the distance of Chang'an City, and no matter how fast the carriage and horse are, it takes at least 50 minutes to travel.

In this way, His Majesty decided to stop all the affairs in his hands within two minutes and visit Dali Temple in person...... And this does not include the time for His Majesty to read the deliberation draft.

Your Majesty, this is a race against Lingyan Pavilion...... Di Renjie was silently relieved, the sudden situation at the moment was actually what he expected, but His Majesty's movements were faster than he imagined......

Then, they quickly rushed to the council chamber of the review area. Di Renjie ordered all the attendants to go out and greeted them alone.

On the main seat of the council room, a woman wearing the robe of the Zixi Emperor and her hair coiled into a peony flower seemed to be sitting upright, drinking tea that had been cooled for fifteen minutes, and raised her eyes to look at the general secretary of Dali Temple who rushed in the door.

"Weichen Di Renjie is late, please forgive your majesty."

Before Di Renjie walked three steps away and was about to salute respectfully, Wu Cao directly waved his hand to "exempt from courtesy", and then asked without delay.

"I've read the Tianzi-level review draft about Mulan, let's not talk about the details of the content - are Zhengnan and Yuanfang already back?"

"Yes." Di Renjie faced Wu Cao and responded in a deep voice, "At eight o'clock yesterday morning, Mr. Zhong and Yuan Fang returned to Dali Temple through the Return to the Source Order......

"Brought back Mulan, a criminal who fled for six months of treason."

"Where is Mulan now?" Wu Cao's expression changed significantly, and he asked with a cold eyebrow.

"Underground infirmary." Di Renjie explained, "Hua Mulan experienced a catastrophe in Qinchu's Qianjiangling, and when she was arrested, she was extremely weak and seriously injured......

"Have you seen her?" Wu Cao looked at Di Renjie, his eyes flashed, and he suddenly asked.

"Nope." Di Renjie subconsciously lowered his gaze and said.

"Mulan was injured and in a coma, and the attending physician said that she would not wake up within ten days...... Moreover, according to the provisions of the Supreme Court of Tang Cao, as the chief secretary of Dali Temple, I need to avoid suspicion, and I cannot see her unless there is a person with a higher level of authority to support and guarantee her. ”

Until he finished speaking, Di Renjie didn't raise his gaze, and kept looking at the ground quietly.

The general secretary of Dali Temple is the highest person in charge of Dali Temple, and his official position in Tang Cao is equivalent to that of the three dukes, and the person who can be one level higher than his authority is only the emperor of Tang Cao State.

"Decide for yourself, I can give you the guarantee in legal matters." Wu Cao pondered for a moment and said in a deep voice.

"I have only one of the most important questions now......"

Wu Cao hung in the middle of his words, but Di Renjie reacted keenly, raised his head and said with a serious expression.

"Back to Your Majesty, Mr. Zhong personally examined Mulan's body yesterday - it was indeed found that the existence of the Sun Moon Phoenix Seal was found in her body...... Mulan, she did have some kind of strange connection with Guoxi. ”

The moment he heard the "Sun, Moon and Phoenix Seal", Wu Cao's whole face changed violently again, and the gaze in his eyes became extremely serious.

And Di Renjie observed Wu Cao's expression and continued: "So it will take some time to take out the Sun Moon Phoenix Seal from Mulan's body now, and after Mr. Zhong's temptation, it seems that something even more unexpected has been found in Mulan's body......"

"Unexpected?" Wu Cao frowned slightly, and asked rhetorically, "What is it?" ”

"This ...... The situation is a bit complicated, and the stakes are very high, even Mr. Zhong does not dare to make a judgment easily, and he needs to ask His Majesty to go to see Mulan in person and judge it personally......"

Wu Cao looked at Di Renjie with a puzzled expression, unable to figure out what he and Zhong Kui had discovered, and she had to make her own judgment.

But if Di Renjie can say this kind of thing, it will prove that it is true, and the stakes are very high.

At this moment, three knocks on the door suddenly sounded crisply, breaking the atmosphere of the close conversation between the two.

Di Renjie subconsciously turned his head, looked at the closed door and heard a waiter outside shouting cautiously and anxiously.

"Report to Your Majesty, Your Excellency the General Secretary, a letter has just been sent from the Lingyan Pavilion of the Imperial Palace, requesting that the General Secretary of Dali Temple, Lord Di Renjiedi, go to the Lingyan Pavilion today to discuss in detail the matter of the Tianzi-level deliberation draft uploaded this morning."

After finishing speaking, the attendants outside the council hall immediately remained silent, not daring to make any superfluous sounds.

And the two people in the council hall listened to the news that came quickly, and they were also silent for a while.

"Sure enough, it's coming." After a moment, Wu Cao sighed deeply. She stared at Di Renjie, and then immediately looked at Di Renjie and said with a serious expression.

"Huaiying, you set off for Lingyan Pavilion immediately, and I will also go here to see the situation of Mulan in person—but no matter what, what you just said to me must be kept secret."

"I understand, Your Majesty rest assured." Di Renjie looked back at Wu Cao's gaze and said in a calm mood.

——Qin Chu Xianyang Palace——

When the swift landed on the pane, the atmosphere in the room fell silent.

The wind of Xianyang was blowing non-stop as always, with the residual heat of late summer, and the cool shade was lifted over and over again.

And Zhang Liang lay down and sat at the head of the bed, staring at the swifts in front of the window against the light, peaceful and calm.

He was only wearing a plain white single coat, half of his body was bathed in the afternoon sun, his washed face was not stained with dust, and the medicinal soup in his hand was gradually cool.

After the catastrophe in Qianjiangling, Zhang Liang fell asleep for nine days before waking up. Although his body was in a coma and received comprehensive medical treatment, he still needed a long time of recuperation after waking up, otherwise it was easy to fall into the root of the disease.

Thankfully, it's time to rest, because it's all over.

At the end of Zhang Liang's bed, Liu Bang was sitting upright, his eyes silent.

Liu Bang was the least injured among all the people who experienced the catastrophe of Qianjiangling, and it can be said that he was not hurt under the protection of everyone. On the second day after the army's rescue, he fully recovered, and decisively decided to lead everyone and the army to settle in Xianyang Palace, which was closest to Qianjiangling, and use the imperial city, which had been emptied and powerless, as their position to recuperate and recuperate, and then began to deal with all the military and political aftermath of the war.

For more than a week, he was busy with a large number of important military and political affairs, and although he was worried about Zhang Liang, who was in a coma and recuperating from his injuries, it was not until the afternoon of the 13th of this month that he rarely found an hour to visit and explain some of the big and small things that happened after the war, especially the one that Zhang Liang was most concerned about......

At the end of the sentence, both of them were silent. Zhang Liang looked at the swifts under the hanging window, while Liu Bang looked at Zhang Liang.

Now, of course, he is no longer the madness and panic of that night in Qianjiangling, he has regained his original sobriety, his purple clothes and silver moon armor are as clean as ever, and his shallow eyebrows are still gentle as usual. It's just that the depths of the pupils of the eyes are more imperceptible than ever before.

Maybe I have experienced the pain of life and death......

"So the situation is as I said, what do you think? Ovary. After being silent for a long time, Liu Bang finally spoke. He knew that it would be difficult for Zhang Liang, who had just woken up, to accept all this, but there were some problems that had to be faced.

Zhang Liang slowly looked back, but looked at the silhouette of Liu Bang sitting quietly, and still didn't say anything.

Liu Bang sighed lightly and had to continue.

"Mulan has never been sincere from beginning to end, and has hidden everything from us and you."

"The fact is that she committed a number of serious crimes in Tang Cao Kingdom half a year ago, and came to Qin Chu in order to defect and save her life. Approaching you is also approaching us, standing on the same front with those of us who have never known anything in our lives, and then using the power of Qin Chu where we are located as her effective protective umbrella. And I don't know if she came to Qin Chu with other more unpredictable purposes......

"She has never confessed her past from beginning to end, if it weren't for this post-war incident, the intelligence network under my command would not have found out that the situation had become so intense that the official forces of Tang Caoguo would have ventured to infiltrate Qin Chu and arrest her by any means."

"Do you understand? Ovary. Speaking of this, Liu Bang couldn't help but sigh earnestly, "The 'Mulan' we have always known is not her true face. ”

Zhang Liang's calm eyes trembled for a moment, he clutched the soup bowl tightly in his hand, and there seemed to be something in his mouth but he couldn't speak.

Liu Bang looked at Zhang Liang's appearance, and could only sigh after a moment, "But you are still worried about her ......"

"That'...... They" Zhang Liang listened to Liu Bang's words, his frowning brows eased slightly, and then said softly, "Tang Cao's people, what will they do with her?" ”

"Tang Cao is a country governed by law." Liu Bang looked at Zhang Liang with heavy and sincere eyes, "You and I both know that even if we haven't seen it, we can imagine that it is impossible to be merciful in dealing with this kind of thing in a country governed entirely by law." ”

"Although I don't know the specific bill of Tang Caoguo's punishment, Hua Mulan has committed many crimes in one fell swoop, and the most important thing is that she also stole Tang Caoguo's national seal - the Sun and Moon Phoenix Seal - so many crimes add up, no matter how you count it, she will not escape a heavy sentence."

"Will you die?" Zhang Liang almost subconsciously spit out these words. Before the words came out, he himself was shocked, and slowly raised his gaze and looked at Liu Bang.

And Liu Bang stared at his gaze and said with a complicated look in his eyes.

"Ofan, you have to understand that we can't interfere in Mulan's affairs no matter what!"

"This is Tang Cao's internal affair, and it is also an important event related to the implementation of their country's laws, and now that Mulan has been arrested and returned to Tang Cao's situation, if we have any more intervention, we will be provoking contradictions at the national level."

"Although their official forces invaded Qin Chu to carry out the arrest mission this time was very inappropriate, except for the arrest of Hua Mulan, they did not get involved in all the ongoing incidents in our country from beginning to end, nor did they cause any form of loss of national resources to Qin Chu - don't forget, Qin Chu has been in a state of civil strife during this period of time when the regime collapsed."

"So in principle, they also respect the sovereignty of our country - in any case, we have no reason to interfere in the affairs of other countries!"

Zhang Liang listened to these words, his eyes became more and more silent, but in the depths of his pupils, he actually understood, he understood Liu Bang's worries and understood Liu Bang's meaning.

He knew he should fall asleep now, and forget everything when he woke up.

"Forget it, ovary." And Liu Bang finally said earnestly, "There are some truths that I don't need to emphasize to you - there is a feast that is not scattered in the world, and the fate between you and Mulan will end here." ”

That's it.

The moment he heard this, Zhang Liang's whole heart couldn't help but shake.

But Liu Bang's cold and blunt words are not wrong, it is time to stop here.

"Actually, I'm not just here today to tell you about Mulan." As he spoke, Liu Bang's tone suddenly softened again, "What's more important is that I want to analyze Qin Chu's future events with you." ”

As soon as Liu Bang's words turned, Zhang Liang's eyes brightened a little.

After three years of internal turmoil and predicament, once subversive battles, after the catastrophe of the Qianjiangling Candle Dragon, Emperor Yingzheng of Qin, Marshal Bai Qi, and Xiang Yu, the King of Chu, were all killed, and Mi Yue, who was still alive, was nowhere to be found, and the high-level power of the entire Qin and Chu State was almost empty.

Therefore, under the remnants of the ruined country waiting to be rebuilt and the people waiting to be safe, Qin Chu's most important task at present is to rebuild the political system.

And this historical responsibility naturally fell on the last surviving figure in power in Qin and Chu, Liu Bang, the king of Han.

Times have changed, and Liu Bang, who survived the disaster in Qianjiangling, now needs to stand on the cusp of Qin Chu to turn the tide of the times.

"Of course, you're definitely in a messy mood right now, and you don't want to get involved in anything, but I'll put it here first." Liu Bang said with a contemplative gaze.

"When I once visited Fengqi Mountain, I learned from Jiang Gong that you have great military and political talents, and you have a certain willingness to become an official in politics, but you have no opportunity to study in Fengqi Mountain for many years."

"To be honest, I've been paying attention to you since you were still translating and reading ancient books on that mountain, and after getting along for so long, I also have a deeper understanding of your intelligence and potential."

"And now is a very good and important time - as a friend, and as the Han King of Qin and Chu, I sincerely invite you to rebuild the political system of Qin and Chu with me and restore the peace and glory of this thousand-year-old country."

"I can say responsibly that as long as you are willing, there will be no problem in serving as the prime minister of Qin and Chu after the regime is rebuilt." Liu Bang stared into Zhang Liang's eyes, looking forward to the scorching light, and swore a promise, "Think about it, you are only twenty-four years old this year." ”

"With the talent and ability you have accumulated on Fengqi Mountain for twenty years, as long as you grasp this opportunity, you will become the youngest prime minister in the entire thousand-year history of Qin Chu!"

And Zhang Liang listened quietly, and a slight light did light up in the depths of his eyes, which was very hot and confused.

"You don't have to rush to give me an answer, I'll wait for you." Liu Bang finally said calmly, got up from the bed, "Take advantage of this time of your recuperation to think about the future road." ”

"Hmm." When Zhang Liang saw Liu Bang get up, he also lowered his gaze and responded seriously, "I will." ”

"Drink the medicine quickly, it's time to get cold." Liu Bang glanced at the medicinal soup that Zhang Liang was holding in his hand, and then turned to leave.

It wasn't until he was in front of the door that he paused, turned around as if hesitantly, and looked at Zhang Liang deeply.

"Room, let me say more."

"You're still young, and there's no grass anywhere in the world. The love between children and daughters is a trivial matter after all, and men's eyes should be long-term. ”

After that, Liu Bang closed the door and left.

And Zhang Liang held the medicinal soup that was already warm in his hand, and after a moment of silence, he slowly drank it against his mouth.

He controlled his thoughts, trying not to think about anything as much as possible, and let his mind be as calm as a mirror.

When the calm gaze fell on the light again, the swift was no longer under the hanging window.