An iron-backed eagle streaked above the walls of the Five Star Fortress and docked in the red-dyed snow. The blood was as light as the fat powder of the past, but the white head of the scavenger was still visible, even from a distance above the city walls. Not long ago, a stupid snow sheep tried to cross the snowfield, and two hungry wolves rushed out of the shelter and attacked it. Dying to a wolf's tooth isn't the worst it can do, and there will be more scavengers vying for its remains.

Sometimes, death is not a relief. Not only can they not liberate their souls, but they also shackle the souls of the surviving and make them suffer deeply.

The news of death in Crescent Mountain is like snowflakes at this time, and every land of golden horses that birds can reach at this moment has been known. The bad news is only a puffy and heavy leg, but it always goes faster than the good news. At least everyone in the army will know that Mu Rong followed in her husband's footsteps and went to the heavenly realm. And the little giants.

My favorite mom, my strongest boy. Ryujin, how can you let me lose my parents one after another?

Grief is not the only negative emotion that comes with the snow season, there is also shame. The oldest, most powerful and most prestigious family of the Golden Horse suddenly began to wither away this season. The new Dragon Monarch had no scruples about inflicting humiliation on them, he openly sent troops to hunt down the Qin family, and then put all this sin on a man who was already dead. This is a lie that only a fool would believe.

And he's surrounded by fools. The guys whose heads were frozen believed that his wife, their young lady, had betrayed him and his family with a dead man.

"The usurper lies, and he will say ten thousand without changing his face, but Gao Jie will not, and he will blush every time he spits out a false word. Gao Jin said of his son.

The message sent by Gao Jie unmistakably mentions that Yu Jian, the former chief guard of the Dragon Monarch and the first warrior of the kingdom, is still alive, and emphasizes this point. But more people emphasized another point: the young lady and Yu Jian stayed together. There are also some people who describe in private that Yu Jian disguised himself and blended into the Qin family's convoy, trying to have a tryst with the * woman, as if they had witnessed everything with their own eyes.

The cold wind blew these cold words to Qin Ming's ears word for word. Shame was like a sharp dagger, piercing deep into his heart. "A man cannot tolerate two things: one is that his wife is unchaste, and the other is that he runs away. Both of these things are unforgivable disgraces. "That's what Daddy told him.

No matter how much he wished to believe Dailan, gossip spread throughout the army. Duan Kaicheng trumpeted the argument that Dai Lan had ruined Jinju Province and the Qin family, and the title of "* woman" came from his mouth.

He couldn't underestimate the influence of the Lord of Sunset Castle, just as he couldn't deny the nightmare that lasted for so many nights. Now it's not just at night, it's also during the day. Whenever the rumors that made him ashamed buzz in his ears, the footage of those nightmares would reappear in his mind. The delicate body that was pressed under the bronze strong ** writhing and moaning, the loud and roaring words, appeared again and again, day and night.

Since your husband can't do it, then I'll give you a child, the child you want.

For a moment he was almost ready to admit that I believed that these "slanders" and "slanders" were true. My wife has betrayed me, and the child in her womb has not been born to me, and the tragedy of my family is due to him. However, Daddy's parting words always echoed in his heart like a big bell, beating him every time he hesitated. "If you are willing to believe the rumors yourself, how can you dispel the suspicions of others?"

He walked around the city wall, intending to go down the stairs, but the attendant Zhao Sui reminded him, "Master, someone is coming from the south. ”

He stood still and looked south, and through the snow foam dancing in the wind, he noticed that some small black dots appeared on the wide snow field, and when he looked closely, those dense small black dots were moving in the direction of the Five Star Fort. Zhao Sui's eyesight is really good. But he instantly understood who it was.

To go to Jinbao from Guangming Harbor, you must pass through Baiyuan and Wuxing Fort, from which Zhao Fei came before. Zhao Sui knew that it was his father who came.

Looking at the situation, Zhao Liancheng, the master of Guangming Harbor, came over with his army.

He remembered what Gao Jin had said to him yesterday. "After your father, it is naturally your turn. But some people don't want you to become the new governor, they think Qin Bo is better than you. I got the news but I can't fully confirm it, someone in the army is communicating with Qin Bo. ”

The second uncle Qin Bo is like his father's shadow, following him silently, silently following his father, never exceeding the rules in every word and deed. The second uncle dedicated half of his life to the family, and he was not even married and had children, and it was hard for him to believe that the second uncle would be a member of the struggle for power. But now the actual owner of the Golden Castle is Qin Bo, which is an indisputable fact. Now that his mother has died, in the entire Jinju, the Qin family's greatest prestige is not him, but the second uncle Qin Bo.

There is no doubt that Duan Kaicheng is one of the people who thinks Qin Bo is better than him. Liu Jin from Shimen Fort, Kang Xian from Saltwater City, Lin Fa from Lifeng Valley, Ding Jun from Ship City, and Ji Lang from Tai'an City, even if these people are not, they don't look like they're on his side. On his side were Gao Jin of Tiebi City and Mo Feng of Long Fence City, who was confident that he would have the support of Mabao Ma Tong, and perhaps Dai Ling of Dayuan City. Antai, the owner of Cold Wind Castle, obeys his father, but he is not the slightest sure whether he will obey him.

The territory of the Golden Ju is vast, and there are many big cities that have developed relying on the Golden Plain, and it is needless to say that Sunset Fort is a holy city, Shimen Fort, Cold Wind Fort, Tai'an City, and Long Fence City all have strong troops, and then go down, it is Guangming Harbor.

Guangminggang never shows off on any occasion, nor does he get involved in various controversies, just like Zhao Liancheng himself. But it wasn't as obedient as it appeared on the surface, and although Daddy didn't say it, he knew that Daddy thought that the army that Brightport had had long exceeded the permitted limit. Due to its trade with the Brilliant Isles, Guangming Harbor became one of the wealthiest cities in the kingdom, and Qin Yuan believed that the throughput of its docks was second only to that of the royal capital Dragon City. Zhao Liancheng had everything to strengthen himself, and there was no reason why he shouldn't.

Zhao Liancheng did not speak loudly, but it did not mean that he would not act wisely. Many years ago, he hoped that Qin Ming could marry his daughter, but after being politely rejected by his father, he sent his young son to be an attendant. He wanted to get the favor of the Qin family, and he wanted to improve the status of Guangming Harbor and the Zhao family.

And now, what does he want to do?

Qin Ming felt that who Zhao Liancheng would lean towards would be decisive. "It's your dad. Your brother said it last time. He tugged at the cloak behind him with one hand, shook off the snow, and suddenly felt a lot lighter, "You haven't seen your father in a few years?"

"It's been more than three years. Zhao Sui hung his head.

"Three years and four months. Qin Ming passed by Zhao Sui and patted the attendant's shoulder, "It's almost time to see Daddy, you should be happy." I'm sure you'll miss him a lot. ”

Me too.

He clenched his fists and walked down the wall. The cold wind made his cheeks ache.

After more than half an hour, Qin Ming saw Zhao Liancheng in the pentagonal hall of the Five Star Castle. Since Zhao Fei had made it clear before, the princes were not surprised by Zhao Liancheng's arrival, but perhaps no one expected him to come with so many troops. According to the scouts, Guangming Harbor dispatched about 20,000 men this time, which is the maximum number of troops it is allowed to have. Undoubtedly, the posture that Guangminggang wants to express this time is: the whole army is dispatched.

The appearance of the master of Bright Harbor was perfectly inherited by his youngest son. A simple and mediocre face is inconspicuous in the crowd, eyes that are not big or small, eyebrows that are not thick or thin, the figure is neither fat nor thin, not tall and not too short, the upper lip is bearded, and the beard on the chin is neither deep nor shallow. He was also dressed plainly, with a gray convex helmet without a tassel hugging the crook of his arm, and the gray armor with a black lighthouse tattoo on his body lacked luster and looked a little old. Even the guards around him seemed to be more radiant than him. As soon as he saw Qin Ming, he bent down and bowed, the gray-black cloak hanging down from his shoulders, almost the same color as the dirty carpet on the ground.

"Guangming Port Zhao Liancheng visited the young master. Hearing that the war on the front line is tight, Zhao was ordered by my lord to lead the army to come, never thought that my lord and his wife were recruited by my god one after another, Zhao was deeply shocked and sad, and asked the young master to mourn. ”

"Lord Zhao, I share this sorrow. Please hurry up. "Surprise is true, grief is not necessarily. "What should I do in the face of the revenge of killing my mother and killing my brother?" Qin Ming sat on the top of Guibai, the city lord of the Five Star Castle, his eyes scanned the audience, and then fell on Zhao Liancheng's face. When he heard the bad news, he didn't say that he wanted revenge, and now was the time to take a stand.

"Vengeance. Zhao Liancheng replied without thinking.

"Exactly. Duan Kaicheng, who was sitting on the right side of Qin Ming, stroked his golden beard, pinched his characteristic sharpness and emphasized: "But we need to figure out who the enemy is, but don't point the finger at the wrong person, that is, the relatives are painful, and the enemies are fast." ”

Gao Jin continued: "What I said will not be false. It was Yuan Yiping, the chief bodyguard of Longjun, who killed his wife and the third prince. ”

Duan Kaicheng smiled "hehe", "Of course, Ling Lang can't lie, but he hasn't seen Yuan Yiping murder with his own eyes, how can he believe people's words and conclude that Yuan Yiping did it?"

"Lord Duan seems to have the intention of exculpating Yuan Yiping?" Gao Jin sneered.

"I only know that Yu Jian, the rebel who has long since died, is still alive, and our young lady is with him. What the thief said is not enough. Duan Kaicheng glanced at Gao Jin coldly, "As for any misunderstanding you have about me, I don't want to argue, the clear one will clear himself." ”

"Yuan Yiping led the team to chase and kill, he is the enemy of my Qin family, there is no doubt about it. If you don't believe it, go back and ask Sanyang Town to know if Yuan Yiping's cavalry team and Li Yue's men and horses from the Shoal Fort rushed to Crescent Mountain. Qin Ming looked at Duan Kaicheng, that face disgusted him, if he could, he would have smashed it flat with one punch. "It's a waste of time to talk about it, and no amount of talk will bring me any closer to Casa King. Lord Zhao is tired from afar, so go and rest for a while. Adults, I don't have much to say, let's go and prepare. ”

He had intended to talk about revenge, but found it unnecessary. He must return to the Golden Castle as soon as possible, not only for the sake of kneeling, but also for fear that something will happen later. He intuitively felt that Zhao Liancheng had something to say to him, but there was no need to say it in the hall. He never knew that his father ordered Zhao Liancheng to lead the army to support the front line, and Guangminggang, as an important coastal town in Jinju, has always been far away from inland wars. But it is too late to raise 20,000 troops to go to the front line after Daddy's general attack on Palm Forest City. Zhao Liancheng was undoubtedly well prepared, and when the opportunity came, he would march out of the army. He said that on the orders of his father, his father is dead, who can say that it is not?

Zhao Fei's words were still in his ears that night, Zhao Fei recognized him as the new king of the golden horse, he only hoped that Zhao Liancheng really thought so.

The Lord of the Five Star Castle, Gui Bai, had prepared an exquisitely furnished bedroom for him, located on the second floor of the three-story castle, which was enough to overlook the vast White Plains. Blown by strong winds from the sea all year round, the White Plains spread northwest from near the coast and cut off by a windbreak forest, and although the Five Star Fort is only a small city, it is still the largest of the vast plains. The White Plains are far away from the Golden Plains, and the soil quality is not very good, so the aborigines seek advantages and avoid disadvantages, and most of them migrate to the northwest. If it weren't for the several coastal towns that live off the sea, the area would be very desolate. The advance army was small in number, and with the exception of the main princes and a few soldiers, the large army remained behind and advanced slowly. Before the arrival of the 20,000 men in Guangming Harbor, Duan Kaicheng had the largest retinue of the princes, and 1,000 of the 5,000 men he brought with him followed them westward.

Zhao Liancheng is a threat to him, but he can also be an ally. If the princes of the golden horse did not respect his inheritance, it was most likely because of the usurper. The usurper had already used the rift in the Northern Alliance to divide Red Mountain and Cold Spring, and that was all he had done?

As he expected, Zhao Sui quickly informed his father to ask for a meeting. When Zhao Liancheng came in, Qin Ming had his back to him and was looking at Bai Yuan from afar.

"The White Plains are open and easy to march, so you can get there in time. Qin Ming deliberately accentuated the tone of the word "timely".

"I'm late, young master. Zhao Liancheng's voice was low, and there was obvious sadness in it.

Even if you came early, you wouldn't be able to stop the barbarians' venomized crossbow bolts from shooting at my father. And now at whom is your bow directed?" He reminded himself to ignore the 20,000 horses in his words. "Tell me, what did you see when you came to the Five Star Castle?"

"Its paper-thin ice, and the undercurrents below. ”

The answer was surprisingly straightforward. "When you see the ice, you know it's going to break sooner or later. White Plains, Golden Plains, these are two very different places. The Golden Plains may one day become the White Plains, but the White Plains will never become the Golden Plains. ”

The master of Guangming Harbor said in a deep voice: "The north wind blows over the white plains, all the rivers will freeze, and the towns will be as difficult to grow as the forests, and the white plains will always be the white plains. This has been true for a thousand years, and it will be so in a thousand years. No one can change that. But one thing can be changed. ”

Qin Ming looked at the direction of Guangming Harbor through the window, where there was Pearl Bay, which was no less busy than Longbite Bay, and Jinju Province was the most fertile in Pearl Bay except for the Golden Plain. After this season, it is not one thing that will change, but many, many things. He thought that no matter how it changed, Pearl Bay would be a dazzling pearl in the immaculate sea.

The pearl's owner continued: "Undercurrents can be stopped until the ice cracks. The undercurrent is dangerous because it is not known, and now we know that it exists. ”

He used the word "we". The tone was like when Zhao Fei rode alone that day. Qin Ming decided to take a risk. It's meant to be a battle, and all battles are risky.

"How many people did you take across the White Plains?"

"Twenty thousand. ”

"That's all you're about. "Even if he is a fool, he will not believe that Zhao Liancheng will leave not a single soldier in the base camp.