Chu Qiao calmed down for a while, wiped the tears on his face, then put down the cloth, put the remnant rainbow sword into the sheath in his hand, put on his cloak, turned around and walked out of the room, and walked towards the kitchen.

Today is the New Year, and the kitchen is also busy, and the ingredients and snacks to be used for the evening banquet are also in full swing.

Chu Qiao took some food in it, prepared it in the lunch box, and took a few jars of wine and wine bowls, and then went to the guard house with the box.

The blue sky was still cold and windy, facing the wind, Chu Qiao walked along the winding path, and saw two guards standing in front of the courtyard gate in the distance, holding heavy swords and wearing dark blue guard uniforms, looking strong and neat.

Approaching the courtyard gate, the two guards clasped their fists and saluted, and she stepped over the threshold and walked inside. The last time I came in a hurry, I was in a hurry, and I didn't pay much attention to this courtyard, but now I look closely, there are all kinds of wooden stakes, grass targets, plum blossom stakes and so on on the left and right sides for training.

At this time, I saw He Xiao walking out of the room, saw her coming, and immediately greeted her.

"Lord Chu, you are here, seeing that you are full of energy, I think you are back to the beginning." He Xiao looked at Chu Qiao, who had a good complexion, and the big stone in his heart had been hanging for a long time, and it also fell quietly.

"It's not bad, today is the New Year, I brought some food for a few of your generals, and I will also bring food to other soldiers of the Xiuli Army in the kitchen later to celebrate the New Year together." Chu Qiao said with a smile.

"What about the others, are they there?" Chu Qiao looked around, but didn't find the other three, so he asked.

"They are on the school field in the back, do you want to go and see it, and they want to see you too?" He Xiao said with some expectation.

"Let's go, let's see." Chu Qiao was also very concerned about the other beautiful soldiers, and immediately agreed.

"Oh, my lord, please come with me," He Xiao raised the corners of his mouth slightly, and hugged his fists.

Chu Qiao walked with He Xiao and came to an empty school field, and when he saw the beautiful soldiers who were practicing in the field, his eyes became more determined.

The soldiers on the school field were concentrating on training, and they were responsible for training Jingtong's sharp eyes found people in the distance, and shouted excitedly: "Chu, Lord Chu!" It's Lord Chu here! ”

This call was not tight, and the other soldiers all stopped their movements, looking at them, one by one, their expressions were excited, and their long-awaited eyes were instantly filled with hope.

They couldn't wait to run forward, talking about concern, chattering endlessly.

Chu Qiao was also touched by their caring enthusiasm, the smile on his face rose, and he felt that the meaning of life was not just because of himself, but for the beautiful soldiers in front of him, her life was their hope and belonging.

"What about Jingtong, Bi Yu and Wang Wei? Where did they go? Chu Qiao didn't see the other two, and asked with concern.

"Ah, my ears have been burning hot all the time this morning, so I said who is thinking about me, it turns out to be our Lord Chu! I'm right, sure enough, Lord Chu still misses me the most. ”

A playful teenager's voice sounded, and between the humorous and narcissistic words, he couldn't hide his excitement.

"The eaves of the king, it must be neither big nor small." Jingtong reminded from the side.

Wang Weicai, who ran over, ignored this old and serious Jingtong, and continued to say playfully: "Lord Chu, I miss you to death, what good things did you bring us." ”

"Well, I brought you something to eat for the Chinese New Year today, would you like to try it together?" Chu Qiao lifted the food box in his hand, with a smile on the corner of his mouth, and continued: "There is freshly marinated beef, crispy rice slips, and a small jar of plum blossom grain. ”

"Yo, Lord Chu is eccentric, this is our General He Xiao's favorite, we have never had a mouthful." Bi Yu took the words, and pretended on his face that I knew this was the case, but said regretfully.

"Lord Chu, are you so eccentric! This time, we caught it, shouldn't we also give us a little bit of bias? Wang Wei said jokingly.

"My lord, they are neither big nor small, they should be punished, and they are not allowed to eat the food you brought." Jingtong said with a serious face.

"Okay, you Jingtong, what do you mean?" Wang Wei said angrily, poking his hand on his shoulder.

Chu Qiao watched them tease each other, and the corners of their mouths were even bigger, looking as good as a crescent moon.

The three of them like to fight with each other like that on weekdays, you find fault with me, and I will talk about your sniffing, but when they are fighting and performing tasks, they are so serious and self-disciplined, and they never slack off.

"Okay, okay~ You all have a share, I said hello to the dining room before I came, this is the New Year, I asked them to also send some delicious hometown dishes to the soldiers of the Xiuli Army to celebrate the arrival of the New Year together, it is estimated that it will come in a while."

After hearing this, the other beautiful soldiers present cheered together, and their hearts were even more grateful to Chu Qiao, they knew clearly in their hearts that they were defectors who were spurned by the world, and there was no way to tell others the pain in their hearts, and even if they did, they would only be used as a ridiculous excuse to make people disdain and ridicule.

Chu Qiao looked at the soldiers who were full of joy and smiled.

Then he lifted the food box on his hand and continued: "Let's go, find a place, I have something to talk to you about alone." ”

"Okay, then let's go back to the living room, it's warm and we can have a drink!" Jingtong put away the playful expression just now and led everyone to the guest hall.

Everyone sat around the bonfire in the room, Chu Qiao put the Remnant Rainbow Sword beside him, took out the food box and put it on the small table, fresh braised beef, a few delicious side dishes and a few jars of plum blossom grain, and then put five wine bowls, pulled out the oil paper, and poured wine for everyone.

"Come on, let's do one first. Happy New Year to everyone. Chu Qiao picked up the wine glass and did it first as a respect.

"Adults have fun, please," the four of them said in unison.

The bonfire was swaying, and Chu Qiao filled the wine bowls of several people again, looking at the somewhat emaciated faces of several people, and feeling a little emotional.

"Time flies so fast, from the time Dawei came out to the time when he returned to Yanbei, it has been more than half a year. In the defense of Hongchuan City, it is to prove your loyalty to the people of Yanbei, and the dead soldiers have also fought for their hometown to the last moment of their lives, and this bowl of wine is to honor them. ”

Chu Qiao stood up with the bowl and sprinkled the wine bowl in his hand on the ground, while He Xiao and the other three people stood up, holding the bowl, looking at the wine in their hands, and fell to the ground in turn with a heavy heart.

The bowl of the four people was empty, and Bi Yu hurriedly filled the wine for everyone.

"This second bowl of wine is to pay tribute to the people of Yanbei who died in vain and defended the city, as well as their dead parents and relatives, without them, we can't stand here now."

The four of them toasted together, remembering the people who died in battle to protect their homeland.

"This third bowl of wine, toast ourselves, because we are still alive, and there is infinite hope when we are alive, and we will have the opportunity to realize our faith ambitions, come!"

Chu Qiao raised the wine, toasted He Xiao and the others, and drank it proudly.

He Xiao, Jingtong, and Bi Yu raised their bowls to salute Chu Qiao, and then touched each other's bowls to salute each other, and the sincere brotherhood in their eyes was not expressed.

"Lord Chu, I He Xiao thank you for your trust and care for me and the officers and soldiers of the Xiuli Army all the time, and sacrificed your life to save you several times, regardless of disobeying Your Highness's wishes, and led us to defend Yanbei's homeland to the best of our ability."

After He Xiao finished speaking, he took the wine bowl that had just been poured, his tone was very sincere, and with a grateful heart, he knelt down on one knee in front of Chu Qiao, saluted the wine in his hand, and raised his head to drink.

"My lord, you don't know how we have come over the years, the front line was defeated, the news of the beautiful rebels spread all over Yanbei like the wind, hearing the world's misunderstanding of the beautiful army, scolding unbearable words, we are powerless to refute, we can only shrink in the cracks of the plateau to survive.

We can ignore all of this, because this is also what we must bear in order to fulfill the old prince's last wish. But as time passed, it was inevitable that the soldiers would not be misunderstood by their families, ostracized by their unwitting comrades-in-arms, and even now disgusted by the current king.

Our hearts are suffering all the time, and all of this is to defend Yanbei and our hometown. Jingtong raised his head and drank the wine, pouring out the bitterness in his heart through the strength of the wine.

"The old prince's last wish? You said that all these behaviors of the Xiuli Army were planned and arranged by Yan Shicheng. When Chu Qiao heard Jing's call, she suddenly raised her head, her eyes wide and she looked at them in disbelief, this was also the most shocking news Chu Qiao had heard so far.

"Yes, all this is the final planning decision made by the old prince before going to Chang'an." He Xiao nodded solemnly, indicating that this was indeed the case.

"What's the plan?" Chu Qiao looked at He Xiao with a solemn expression, she had always had doubts about He Xiao.

From the conversation with him in the woods, his eyes contained too many emotions, there was firmness, responsibility, and the light of deep thinking and decision-making, and as one of the generals of the Xiuli Army, he quickly made the best choice for the Xiuli Army in view of the current situation, and all kinds of signs showed that he was not a simple person.