Between killing and not killing, Xu Rui only struggled for a moment before giving up.

He understands that there are only two people here, he and Gonggong Cao, if Gonggong Cao is killed, no matter how much he quibbles, he will not be able to clear the suspicion, and it is not much different from directly exposing his identity.

What's more, since Gonggong Cao dared to leave him alone to find out about this matter, he would definitely not be without support, who hasn't had the means to press the bottom of the box these years? In the end, it is not certain who killed whom, so why should you take such a risk?

Thinking of this, Xu Rui simply spread his hands and did not answer Father-in-law Cao's question, but asked: "What does my father-in-law want to explain to the boy, to put it bluntly, there is no need to be scary about this matter, is it possible that my father-in-law still can't trust me along the way?" ”

Seeing that Xu Rui had already made a decision, Gonggong Cao secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and his tightly frowning brows slowly relaxed.

"Boy, you are also a bachelor, for the sake of you not treating your father-in-law as an outsider, let's remind you, don't think too simple about the saint, if he is really so easy to deceive, can he still sit firmly on the dragon chair and overlook all living beings?"

Xu Rui looked at Gonggong Cao unexpectedly, but Gonggong Cao snorted coldly and said: "Our family is indeed inferior to you in terms of military strategy, but when it comes to the battle in the palace and the people's hearts, you are far worse than our family."

The saint's eyes are like torches, controlling the government and the opposition, you have to complete the panic if you think about this level, otherwise even if your father-in-law turns a blind eye, you will capsize in the gutter sooner or later. ”

"Father-in-law, boy......"

"You don't have to explain, and our family is happy to not know, but we have to do the same.

After returning to Beijing, you will definitely kick the court, the battle there is not easier than the battlefield, you have saved our family's life, our family will naturally face you, but you have to be prepared, don't take it lightly! ”

Xu Rui nodded and bowed deeply to Gonggong Cao, who waved his hand: "Go, don't let Liu Yi's veteran ruffian wait." ”

Xu Rui bowed again, turned his head and walked out of the woods, but never looked at him again.

Gonggong Cao stared at his back, his eyes narrowed slightly, as if he was thinking about something.

After a long time, a figure fell behind Gonggong Cao, dressed in a black suit, which was a little similar to Yingyu's.

As soon as the man appeared, he immediately hugged his fists and said, "Father-in-law, it was too dangerous just now, even the Martial Saint disciples died tragically in his hands, if he turns his face is not good for you, it will be difficult for his subordinates to help." ”

Father-in-law Cao retracted his gaze and shook his head: "No way, our family is betting that we won't look at the wrong person." ”

The man was puzzled: "If my father-in-law wants to test him, he can arrange it more properly, so why risk his life?" ”

Gonggong Cao sighed: "People's hearts are the most difficult thing in the world to figure out, if you are not in an extreme environment, how can you really see clearly?"

Now that the army is about to return north, this time Jingyang is defeated, and I don't know what kind of impact I have to face when I go back, and we must find out what kind of person he is before going back, so we have to make this decision. ”

"Father-in-law wants to use him?"

"It's useless, this son is the dragon and phoenix among the people, sooner or later it will be shining, I can't say when our family will want him to help, if he doesn't take advantage of the fact that he has not yet made a fortune to win people's hearts, I'm afraid I won't be able to line up on the pole in the future."

"But he actually made a move on Jinyiwei, it is very likely that it is a secret chess of the Southern Dynasty."

Gonggong Cao shook his head and said: "Watching people's hearts should not only listen to their words, but also watch their deeds, although our family doesn't know why he will shoot at Jinyiwei, but you can rest assured, just look at his performance in the battle of Jingyang, and it will never be a secret chess of the Southern Dynasty."

Take 10,000 steps back, even if he is really a secret chess, but he is the only one who can save the army at the moment, just to protect himself, and he has to pinch his nose and say that he is not, so there is no point in caring about his identity at all. ”

The man finally stopped questioning, but sighed and said, "My father-in-law is very hard, and I don't know if that kid knows or not." ”

Gonggong Cao glanced at him and said with a smile: "He is much smarter than you think, otherwise why do you think he wanted to worship our family just now?" Is it just a reminder of the words? ”

The man was stunned: "Is there still a deep meaning?" ”

Cao Gong said fairly: "How else can you say that you are stupid?" Although he didn't admit anything, he didn't deny that he attacked Jinyiwei, that is, to tell our family that he didn't treat our family as an outsider.

Our family knew the truth but didn't reveal it, so we took a risk for him, and then reminded him to complete the panic, that is, to tell him that our family did not treat him as an outsider, and would deal with this matter with him.

So he worships our family, not to thank our family, but to tell our family, from now on we will share weal and woe, our family did not refute, but was willing to form an alliance with him, understand? ”

"There are so many Daos?"

The man was stunned and surprised.

Father-in-law Cao was a big pair, with his hands behind his back, and strode out of the woods.

The crowd had dispersed, and the inconspicuous woods fell silent again, drowning in a vast white snowfield.

When everyone deliberately or unintentionally did not talk about the so-called heavenly punishment, one person bypassed everyone's sight, carried a basket, and quietly went into the woods.

The corpse was dragged away by the soldiers of the vanguard battalion, and only specks of blood were left to prove the existence of that great battle.

The man stood still in front of a pool of blood, and suddenly his legs bent and he fell to his knees.

He took off the hood on his head, and it turned out to be Wang Man's confidant Chang Le.

Chang Le opened the basket, lit three sticks of incense and inserted it in the middle of the bloodstains, took out a pot of turbid wine and unscrewed the cap, and said expressionlessly: "My lord, I am one step too late to fight, and I can't fight side by side with you, so I can only prepare a little wine to pay tribute to your soul in the sky." ”

After speaking, he gently hummed a Southern Dynasty ballad to commemorate the souls of the generals - "No Return to the People".

"The sound of the corners on all sides, in the thousands of mountains, the long smoke and sunset are closed in the lonely city, the Qiang tube is full of frost, people are sleepless, and the general's white-haired husband is in tears......"

Although Chang Le is not good at singing, and his tone is particularly inaccurate, his voice is still desolate and low, sad and sad, as if he is in the wilderness, he does not know where to go, and his eyes are full of despair.

After finishing a song, he wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes, poured the wine in his hand on the ground, and put the burned three incense sticks into the basket together with the incense ashes, and kowtowed three times towards the south.

"General rest assured, you are martyred, Chang Le will never live alone, I will avenge you before I die!"

With that, he lifted the basket and turned and walked out of the woods.

The cold wind blew across the earth, and the sunny day was only a moment, and the snow began to fall again......

In the Chinese army, Liu Yi's face was black, Mei Chuang, who had just been released from Jinyiwei's black prison, lowered his head and didn't dare to speak, Xu Rui sat in front of the map with a solemn expression, and the atmosphere was depressed to the freezing point.

"Are you sure? Will the pursuers really come early? ”

Although it had been confirmed several times, Liu Yi couldn't help but ask again.

Xu Rui nodded: "Wang Man said that he would drag the Northern Wuwei in Lingdong for a day, although it may not be the truth, but I feel that the army of the Southern Dynasty will be slow for two days, and fast for one day, and it will definitely be killed in Lingdong." ”

"How so, how can it be so fast?"

Liu Yi slapped the table and said viciously.

Xu Rui sighed and said: "The battlefield situation is changing rapidly, and it is not without warning that the army of the Southern Dynasty will be killed in advance, if the army must have been prepared in peacetime, but in the past few days, it has been stirred up too much by the dark chess, coupled with Han Baixing's stupid pig crossing, which paralyzed the army, so that it will feel so sudden." ”

Liu Yi waved his hand: "It's too late to say this, what I need to know is what to do?" ”

Xu Rui said: "Of course, it is to start as soon as possible, now the other armies should have been wiped out, King Wuling can just free up his hands to deal with us, if it is blocked in Lingdong, then there will be no way out." ”

"Pull?"

Liu Yi frowned: "We are still three days away from Northern Qi, if the chasing soldiers really come so fast, it is very likely to catch up with us within these three days, and when the time comes, the cavalry will fight in the field, and the Northern Wuwei will definitely be annihilated." ”

Xu Rui shook his head and said: "According to the current situation analysis, it is not possible, but it will definitely be caught up by the pursuers!" ”

Liu Yi was stunned: "Then you still let the army pull out?!" ”

Xu Rui said expressionlessly: "If you don't go, you're dead, so you have to go, but you can't live if you go to Northern Qi, so we can only choose another way." ”

"Which way? In addition to the detour to Northern Qi, where is there a road? ”

"Yes, right here!"

Xu Rui pointed to the map and said categorically.

Liu Yi and Mei Chuang were stunned at the same time, and hurriedly went to the map to check carefully, only to see that the place where Xu Rui pointed was the majestic Liuqing Mountain!

"As long as we go directly to the north and cross this mountain range, we can return to the border of the Great Wei, although the first battle of Jingyang was lost and the generals were defeated, but the Great Wei still has a million heroes, and the national strength of the Southern Dynasty is not as good as that of the Great Wei, although the soldiers are strong but they are not durable to fight and war, and they will not dare to invade the whole country, so as long as we cross the border, even if we escape!"

Mei Chuang sighed and shook his head, Liu Yi's face was black and angry.

"The flowing green mountains are a natural danger, and few people have been able to cross safely throughout the ages, and now that it is snowing again, even if the army can cross the mountains, there will be no one in ten!"

Xu Rui shook his head: "I have already checked, the reason why Liuqingshan is a natural danger is because the mountain road is difficult and difficult, and if you are not careful, you will fall off the cliff, but the kid still has some experience on the way to explore the road, and he is sure that he can control the loss within fifty percent!" ”

"Fifty percent?"

Liu Yi and Mei Chuang were shocked at the same time.

Liu Yi said: "Fifty percent is more than 20,000 people will die, this is still the most ideal situation, even if you don't mention this matter, but have you thought about it, what to do with those disabled soldiers?" How could they possibly travel long distances and cross mountains on a snowy day?! ”

Xu Rui said coldly: "Originally, I didn't want to take them with me, abandon all the wounded baggage, and only bring the necessary supplies, which can reduce the loss by one percent!" ”

"What?!"

Liu Yi slapped his palm on the table and said angrily: "You are here again, abandon the wounded and heavy, the morale of the army will inevitably be hit again, once the soldiers are cold, any accident will become a plate of loose sand, if the chasing soldiers are desperate to kill, what should you do?" ”

Xu Rui shook his head and said: "The matter has come to this point, you can only take one step at a time, and choose between the annihilation of the whole army and the survival of sixty percent, how will you choose, general?" ”

Liu Yiyan was shocked when he heard this, and he was speechless.

Xu Rui sighed, and said: "You only think that it is unrighteous for me to abandon the wounded soldiers, but have you ever thought that they will stay in Lingdong and become captives of the Southern Dynasty at most, although it is a shame, but they can still survive, but if the whole army is annihilated, or if they enter the mountains with the army, it will be a situation of ten deaths."

In the whole world, among all living beings, which one was not born and raised by his parents? Are we really going to force them to death for the sake of the so-called righteousness?! ”

Xu Rui's words were very reasonable, and he was sincerely aggrieved, like a sharp arrow piercing the hearts of the two.

Originally, Xu Rui finally came to Lingdong with a large army, thinking that he could retreat with his whole body, but he didn't expect to be broken by the combination of dark chess and Jinyiwei, although Xu Rui's strategy is very costly, it is already the only hope of Beiwu Health, how can Liu Yi and Mei Chuang choose?

Liu Yi stood stunned for a moment, and finally sat down dejectedly, and sighed: "When the army enters the mountain, what about Hong Qi's 3,000 men and horses?" ”

Xu Rui gritted his teeth and said: "I only know that at most two hours, the army must be pulled, and the rest depends on the will of heaven!" ”

His meaning was very clear, if Hong Qi and the 3,000 lone army could arrive within two hours, they would enter the mountain with the army, and if they could not catch up, the army would have to abandon them.

But they haven't heard any news yet, so how can they arrive in just two hours? And once abandoned by the army, these 3,000 men and horses will inevitably be besieged and become the bag of King Wuling, and Xu Rui has actually announced their death sentence.

Thinking of their fate, Mei Chuang's heart felt a chill, and Liu Yi closed his eyes in pain.