The roaring fireplace has become almost a necessary part of the north, and the warmth visible to the naked eye is constantly released, and before it reaches the person, it is carried away by the cold wind, leaving no trace.

Xu Zhongheng sometimes really wanted to curse the cold air again and again, while putting it into the blazing fire.

He'd seen the Northerners burn corpses—but they weren't corpses anymore. Here, the person who has froze to death can only pray to be buried by the snow, otherwise every piece of flesh and every inch of skin on his body may become food for other people's hunger.

The northern people who lived in the territory of the Western Empire were slightly more civilized, and they would only cut off the limbs of their bodies, while the ferocious barbarians outside the country would eat everything they could.

In front of them, the two people standing in the room were one of the "foreign barbarians".

Two members.

Xu Zhongheng felt that Cangyan was a little familiar, he looked at the other party carefully for a moment, and the other party saw through his thoughts and took the initiative to explain: "King Shenyue may have seen his father. ”

"Your father?" Xu Zhongheng didn't feel hostility from Cang Yan, he looked like a friendly wanderer who came to seek refuge, but no matter how kind his tone was, he didn't hide the faint ambition in his eyes.

He motioned for Cangyan and his retinue, most of them retinues, to sit down. Luckily, there were six chairs in this cramped room, each of which was in tatters, perhaps even worse than that used by outsiders.

Xu Zhongheng suddenly felt a trace of sadness.

"That's right, my father is called 'Caomu Hou'. ”

The buried memory was evoked by these three words, and it was a small episode that happened in the capital when he was young.

"I remember that you did have a kind of resemblance to him. Xu Zhongheng looked at Cangyan for a moment, and couldn't help but relax his vigilance and said, "I've actually heard of you, Cangyan." But this time, I saw it with my own eyes, and found that you are not as brutal and barbaric as rumored, but like a polite scholar. ”

"Scholar is a derogatory term in the north," Cang Yan smiled slightly, not showing an offensive expression, but the entourage beside him shook his body slightly, as if protesting against Xu Zhongheng's statement. "Actually, most of the rumors about me that King Shenyue heard are true. ”

"For example?" Xu Zhongheng shook his eyebrows.

"I slaughtered an entire village in a valley not far from here. Now, it is still the land of the Western Dynasty, but the land is no longer inhabited. I let the villagers line up, men, women and children, you pay attention to protecting the weak, but we are different, anyone can become a sharp dagger to stab us, no matter how weak a woman, no matter how ignorant a child, when they grow up, they are all threats of killing and hurting people, they do not want to follow us, I have no choice but to cut the grass and eradicate the roots. It was winter, there was only winter in the north, and they stood in rows, and I thought of a way to solve them all without much effort, and finally I started a raging fire in the valley, a winter fire, a fire in the north...... It's very beautiful, it's very rare. All of them were burned to charcoal, and in order to prevent them from escaping, I had my men surround the village with spears, and some would rather be pierced than burned, and it was very painful to burn, I could hear it. But I didn't have a choice. King Shenyue, I hope you can understand that I am not a person who is keen on killing, but there are some troubles that need to be eradicated at the root, and I can't think of any other way than to let the villagers who may harm me at any time be buried in peace. ”

Cangyan is extremely calm, there is no ostentation, no deterrence, as if telling a story specially designed to scare children.

"In Geba Village, I heard the story of more than 200 villagers who died in the fire overnight. Xu Zhongheng said without changing his face, "That was many years ago. ”

"yes, many years ago. "Are there any other stories?" and of course - I skinned three traitors and made them strand naked and stood in the snow for a day and a night, and when I woke up, they were all statues. ”

"That's cruel. ”

"That's true, too. ”

Xu Zhongheng found that his hands were gradually becoming cold. Are you scared?

"Why do you say that?"

"I just want to tell you that most of the misdeeds that have been done in the North have come from these hands. He stretched out his rough hands, which were frozen red and purple by the cold, "I tell you honestly, in order to get the support of you, the King of Shenyue. I don't dare to say that I have reformed myself, and the countless souls I carry on my body are wailing in my ears day and night, but I have learned one thing in this violence, that killing can only lead to more killing, that it is like an unstoppable plague, and that only people like you can change the status quo. ”

"What can I support you? I only have this life that is pinched between my fingers by the capital, and if a second-grade official repairs a book, I will die. ”

"King Shenyue, you underestimate your own strength," Cang Yan withdrew his hands and stretched into his sleeves again, even if he had lived in the north since he was a child, he would feel cold, "You are highly respected in the court, and most sensible people understand that you should sit on the throne, not a little emperor, let alone Princess Tilting Lotus who listens to the government." ”

Xu Zhongheng subconsciously glanced around, and no one was eavesdropping. If this great rebellion is transmitted to the capital, he will be in a different place. However, it is already treason to meet Cangyan...... He took a deep breath and let Cang Yan continue.

"You have prestige, wisdom, and connections, but have you never thought about why you ended up in the wilderness of the North?

"It's providence. ”

"You're still kidding yourself. Cang Yan leaned closer to Xu Zhongheng, "I can see a lot of things in people's eyes, His Highness's unwillingness, hatred, ambition and chagrin - what is Your Highness regretting? Let me think about it." ”

Cang Yan's gaze made Xu Zhongheng can't help but dodge, he hasn't dealt with a tough opponent for too long, and now he is defeated just by making eye contact.

"I regret letting the princess return to Beijing back then. ”

“...... How do you know?"

"I know more about the Western Dynasty than you do. Cangyan said, "Why do you think I chose to look for you at this time?"

"Why?"

"Because the little emperor was assassinated. ”

"What?!What are you talking about?" Xu Zhongheng's eyes widened.

Providence? This is providence!

His head was in shambles.

Is this a ploy by the plain talk? Tell false information to reveal your true heart?

He stared blankly at Bayez, the loyal servant nodding slightly.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked angrily.

"Your Highness, you have asked me not to let you hear anything about the court. The servant replied honestly.

“...... Is he really dead?"

Xu Zhongheng still remembers the scene when he took the little emperor to fight crickets, how many years ago was that? At that time, the cute and clever princess was also on the side, but she hated insects and hid far away, and the little emperor scared her with a cricket with teeth and claws, and she cried very much, and as a result, the emperor scolded the little emperor and him.

"Completely dead," Cang Yan laughed, "and the door of the brain was pierced." ”

"Who did it?

"I don't have that skill, but I'm just a stepping stone to the north. Cang Yan said, "I sent two envoys with strong martial arts to the Western Dynasty, asking the princess to cede land to the north, otherwise there will be a war." Now that the whole capital is in chaos, she must not have the leisure to deal with us, and either rush to war or cede land to protect herself. ”

"You said you were tired of killing. ”

"Yes," Cangyan said, "so I want her to cut the ground honestly." ”

"Which two pieces of land do you want?" Xu Zhongheng suddenly felt that he had become Cangyan's military advisor after talking like this.

"Suizhou and Yuzhou. ”

The two northernmost states, Xu Zhongheng is in Yuzhou. The geographical conditions here are not superior, and the Pingfeng Pass, which straddles east and west, can stop a large-scale invasion outside the pass.

In order to show his strength, Xu Zhongheng immediately said: "No king will agree to your conditions, not to mention that the little emperor has just died, and the princess will not only not cede the land, but will immediately attack you to set an example in order to establish her prestige." ”

"yes, I thought about it. ”

"You've been preparing for war for a long time?" Xu Zhongheng was stunned.

"I have no other way but to fight. ”

Cangyan's tone was exactly the same as just now—I had no other way than to cut the grass and eradicate the roots.

"What the hell are you after, war, killing, shopping?"

"I just want to live in a just world. Cang Yan said, "King Shenyue, don't you understand? I don't want to conquer the city, but to overthrow the entire Western Dynasty and the corrupt system it relied on. The era of relying on blood to maintain the system is long over, and the ignorant and stubborn rulers must disappear from the earth. ”

He stood up, his tall body squeezing the room narrowly.

"Why do we people in the north have to live in the bitter cold for generations? Just because our ancestors were exiles? Why are you destined not to be the ruler of the Western Dynasty? Just because the Soshoji Temple has marked you with the mark of the royal family? How ridiculous. Let's go back to the roots, why did the Western Dynasty rule the world? Xi Taizu was just a small Taishou in the southwest Shu region, and he did not rely on blood, but let others bleed and let the blood of opponents flow like a river. ”

The whirring robe rolled out of the cold air, Xu Zhongheng felt that his brain was awake for a while and frozen for a while.

"King Shenyue, this is the reality, those who are capable win, and those who lose are defeated. You've been in the snow for so long that you can't even see this simple truth?"

Xu Zhongheng found himself involuntarily clenching his fists.

He admonished the heart. Cang Yan is using rhetoric to deceive himself! He is just a savage who is eager to kill, no different from any northerner, think about what he has done, what is the difference between him and a beast? He is now just dressed in the disguise of civilization, no matter how clean the snow in the north is, it cannot wash away the brutal blood flowing in his bones.

It's bloodline again!

He gave himself a slap in the face.

If he thinks like this, will he not become a ruler who is "ignorant and stubborn" as Cangyan puts it? He is not ignorant or stubborn! He is well versed in ancient and modern Chinese and foreign affairs, and is respected by his disciples as the most enlightened royal family, and he must not be associated with "self-containment."

For a moment, he felt that Cang Yan had seen through his true nature.

Cangyan said this on purpose!

He has a good face and craves the praise of outsiders. And Cangyan seized this weakness!

"King Shenyue. ”

Cangyan's voice became ethereal, and he recalled it in his mind over and over again.

"If you think about it carefully, those people who do not have bloodline are full of complaints and hatred, if you can lead them to overthrow the Western Dynasty, you will be a great man who will be famous for the ages, destined to be sung from generation to generation. Do you want to write in the history books that King Shenyue failed to usurp the throne and was exiled to the north, becoming a smiling and generous harlequin, or the emperor who established a new dynasty?"

You win. Xu Zhongheng felt that he shouldn't have smoked so many light ancients, and his head was no longer sober.

You win......

"Cangyan," his gaze was straight, as if he could pierce the capital, "you say, what should I do?"