In December 779, Stirling received an interrogation order from the Senate and rushed back to Dìdū from the Far Eastern front. On the way, he passed by the station of the "Xiuzi Camp", and he specially went to visit his friend Zichuan Xiu. The two best friends, who had not seen each other for a long time, finally met on the war-torn Far Eastern battlefield, and there was a touching scene of reunion after a long absence......

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"Wishing you prosperity, Boss Xiu! I heard that the wealth has been coming in recently!"

"Hehe, rejoice and rejoice!--Shirakawa, serve tea to Boss Stirling!--How's the business lately?Have you made a fortune?"

Zichuan showed a snap of his fingers, so a row of Xiuzi battalion soldiers wearing deep suits, white patent leather shoes, and brand-name sunglasses bent down and bowed to Sterling: "Hello boss!"

Changchuan handed Sterling a business card and bowed: "Please take care of the company's business!" Sterling took a cursory look at Changchuan's business card, and dozens of company chairman and general manager titles were densely written. Sterling was amazed, and it was hard to imagine that such a skin could cover so many titles.

"What does this Xiuziying e-commerce company mean?"

"Hehe, Sterling, you're really outdated after staying on the front line for too long! What era is it now? What does the e era mean? How do I know, that's what everyone says--how do you see people behind you when you come out and walk around the rivers and lakes?--although I don't know what it means--ah, don't get me wrong, it's not what I said, it was Zhang Jiahui. ”

"What, you don't even know Cheung Ka-fai, hehe, Sterling, you're really outdated - although I don't know who he is. ”

※※※

The subordinates all went out, and only two were left, Shikawa Xiu and Sterling.

Zichuan Xiu asked, "Sterling, why do you have time to come to us? Isn't the zhōngyāng army still on the front line?

Sterling told him what was going on with a wry smile, and took out a questioning order: "I have to go back immediately, I'm feeling good now."

Those guys are annoying! But they can't help it, after all, they are institutionally ...... Ah?!" He watched in amazement as Zi Chuanxiu took out a bucket full of waste paper from the trash can, all of which were the same senators' interrogation orders as him!

"You, you, this is ......"

"Oh, time is money! I'm so busy with business, who has time to go back and chat with those flies! But don't worry, I've hired a squadron lawyer to help me attend the hearing!

Sterling smiled: "So rich, I heard that you have a big business now, how about doing me a favor?"

"No problem!!What kind of friendship do we have?" Zi Chuanxiu looked generous: "If you want to borrow money, just open your mouth and tell me!"

Sterling shook his head: "It's not borrowing money. I'd like to buy you a million kilograms of rice -- Minghui introduced me, and he said you did it quickly and well, and delivered it to your door. ”

"No problem!" Zichuan Xiu's eyes lit up when he heard this: "The price is added by 10% on the basis of military food, and the deposit is 20%, and it will be delivered to your designated place within fifteen days, and the liquidated damages for one day overdue will be calculated at three thousandths of the contract amount." You must settle all the payments within 10 days after delivery, and you will be charged 3/1000 for one day after the deadline. As for the terms of delivery, do you prefer FOB or CIF?"

Sterling listened in a daze, and honestly admitted: "I don't understand any of this. ”

"Oh, it's better if you don't understand!--Oh, I'm saying you don't understand, I'll understand! Come on, do you have a check with you? There is also a sign under the terms of this contract, which means "I have fully understood and agreed to the terms of this contract." "Sign your name below, yes, yes, yes, just write Sterling, the commander of the zhōngyāng army!

Sterling was confused and signed his name to Shikawa Xiu.

Zi Chuanxiu blew the ink with satisfaction: "I said, Sterling, you should have left the supply matter to us a long time ago! You see that Minghui didn't let us take full charge of his supply earlier? It is much better than the logistics department, and the food of the Black Flag Army is much better than that of your zhōngyāng army! Besides, they are happy to do this in the logistics department! Recently, they have been busy fooling around with the senators, and they have no time to work-hey, what kind of eyes are you looking at? As if they suspect that I am lying to you? We're old friends, how is that possible?"

Shikawa Xiu quickly hid the contract and didn't let Sterling look at it again. He changed the subject: "What's going on at the front?"

Stirling let out a long sigh: "There is a truce! We have lost our last chance to quickly end the civil war in the Far East!"

"Originally, we implemented the Blue Moon Plan, and the rebels had already lured us out of the jungle and into the plains. Fighting on the flat ground, they are not our opponents at all! Seeing that the encirclement is about to close, hundreds of thousands of rebels have a big river in front of them and Fang Jin's army behind them, and there is no way out at all! At this juncture, suddenly the senators will come and order: "Truce the war!" No attack! So we can only watch the rebel brigade run away calmly! What a pity! These are the backbone and backbone of the rebellion! If they are eliminated, the rebellion will be over! That's a little bit!

Zi Chuanxiu heard the deep pain and regret hidden in Sterling's tone, and thought of his cāo labor night and night, the victory of countless bloody battles on the battlefield, and the loyalty and blood that did not ask for anything in return...... Now they were all cut off because of an order from the Senate, and for a moment he could not think of anything to comfort him, and both of them were silent.

It was Sterling who spoke first: "What's the news in dìdū lately? I can't even read the newspaper there, and I'm really outdated as you said." ”

As usual, the chief said, "Come on, do it well!" Di Lin and Luo Minghai were arguing with each other. Now the theme of the noise has become: War or peace? Look at Dillin's speech at the Senate. Zi Chuanxiu handed over a piece of newspaper: "Luo Minghai said that it would be a family to show favor to the rebels in the Far East and forgive them." Di Lin immediately rose up and retorted: "The victor can be respected for his kindness, and the defeated will also come to talk about any kind of mercy, but all he will get is contempt!"

Sterling took a cursory look at the newspaper and wondered, "We weren't defeated, were we?"

"Di Lin means that after we have endured several failures such as Chishui Beach, the dignity and majesty of the family have been lost, and if we can't beat it, it will provoke the ridicule of the world. The nobles of the Far Eastern faction strongly supported his opinion, advocating that the rebels should be severely suppressed and punished, and that the dignity of the nobles should be maintained! Luo Minghai was the agent of the opinions of the Lord and the faction.

Now the two sides are in a quarrel, and Di Lin scolded Luo Minghai for being a traitor sent by the rebels! The two almost fought at the senator's meeting. ”

Sterling frowned: "Diling shouldn't be like this. Whether it is the main battle or the main peace, they are all out of public intentions, and they are all for the purpose of saving the family, but everyone has taken different paths. ”

Zi Chuanxiu secretly laughed at Sterling's naivety: Where is there any public heart? The only reason why Luo Minghai is in favor of peace talks is to oppose Di Lin. If Di Lin said tomorrow, "Let's talk about peace!" Luo Minghai would say: "No! In order to maintain the dignity of the family, we must fight to the death!"

"Okay, Sterling, what do you think after seeing all this?"

Sterling smiled: "I'm just a soldier, this shouldn't be something I'm thinking about." Those things should be the work of the political family. I am now only waiting, waiting for the Senate or the Commander-in-Chief to issue an order to us, and if it is a "war", we will continue to fight, and if it is a "peace" I will withdraw my troops. -- Obedience, that's the job of a soldier. ”

After thinking about it for a while, Sterling added another sentence: "The army is the sword in the hands of the state, and if this sword has its own mind, it will be above the whole society, which is an extremely dangerous thing." ”

Zichuan Xiu savored Sterling's words, smiled and said, "You're here again!" I'm not asking Stirling, the commander of the Zhōngyāng Army, what opinion Sterling has on the situation. ”

Stirling thought about it for a long time before he slowly said: "I don't know much about politics, and I'm not interested in any "dignity of nobility". However, as it is now, with such a huge divergence of interests between the two political groups and the powerful armed forces of each country, I do not believe that peace can be negotiated in exchange. Even if it were, it was a very false peace, and it would not last long. In the end, it is still necessary to see through the battle of strength on the battlefield. It is paradoxical, but I believe that true peace can only be achieved through war. ”

"Maybe you don't want to see bloodshed and cannibalism, but I can only say that if the family wants to unify the Far East and become strong, it must pay a price. ”

Zichuan Xiu was in awe, he didn't expect Sterling to maintain such a profound thought when he was in charge of military affairs on the front line.

"Ah Xiu, what do you think?"

Zichuan Xiu said: "You have a lot of sense. But unlike you, I was born in Dìdū, but I grew up here, and the Far East can be said to be my hometown. Back then, I saw with my own eyes how the human aristocracy oppressed and bullied the inhabitants of various races without mercy, and now, I have seen how the oppressed in those years cruelly repaid their masters. Whoever wins or loses, it's a tragedy of cannibalism between brothers in the same room. If this war continues, there will be no winners, only two defeats. If the Senate can solve the problem in a bloodless way, I am in favor of it. - I only dare to say this in front of you, otherwise others will accuse me of being a traitor!"

Sterling listened very carefully and smiled: "I said that whether it is war or peace, it is for the purpose of saving our family, but it has taken a different path." I'm not going to quarrel with you about that. But in front of Di Lin, you have to be more restrained, our eldest brother is a fiery temper. ”

"I know! By the way, I almost forgot something: Li Qing and Cardin both asked me to bring you a letter. You wait, I'll find you......" Zi Chuanxiu searched for a long time before he found the two letters in a pile of straw paper used to go to the toilet: "Oh, take it!"

Sterling took Cardin's letter tremblingly and kissed the cover with reverence. When he opened it, he kissed the letter again, and suddenly became puzzled: There were traces of water soaking on the letterhead! He knew Zi Chuanxiu's habits too well, so he grabbed him and asked, "Tell me honestly! Have you peeked at it? What happened to this water?"

Sterling knew that if he didn't answer well, he would immediately be splattered with blood, and hurriedly replied: "These are tears! These are the tears that Princess Cardin shed because she missed you! Do you know how sad Cardin was on the day you left!"

On the day I wrote the letter, I cried to death, and the crystal tears soaked the white letter paper one by one......"

"Oh!" said Sterling, relieved, and began to read the letter:

"Lord Sterling:

This is the first time I have written in human language, and I hope you will forgive me if there is anything inappropriate.

The Far East is cold and cold, so please pay attention to your body.

Since you say goodbye, I'm fine, please don't worry about me. Miss Ning took good care of me. The day before yesterday, I went to a temple, and people said that the gods there were dedicated to blessing the warriors who went on the expedition. Miss A-Ning told me that she used to go there to pray for the safety of His Excellency Xiuchuan, and the result was very effective, His Excellency Xiuchuan really returned safely!

Now, I am there to pray for you, just as Miss Ning prayed for His Excellency Xiuchuan, I hope that you will return safely as soon as possible, that my prayers can be heard by the gods like Miss Ning's prayers, and that the gods can also protect you as they protect His Excellency Xiuchuan. My opinion is that since a bad guy like Your Excellency Hidekawa can also be blessed by the gods, then a person as good as you is more qualified to ask for the mercy of the gods......"

Zichuan Xiu took advantage of Sterling's fascination to read the letter, tiptoed outside, only took two steps, and suddenly Sterling's sharp saber was already on his neck. Zi Chuanxiu laughed dryly, and quickly sat back in his seat, not understanding how could Sterling find himself when he didn't look up at all?

Sterling let out a long sigh as he read Cardin's letter. His sharp gaze looked at Zi Chuanxiu, as if he wanted to see through his internal organs: "You really haven't peeked at it?"

"I really haven't peeked at it!"

"Why is there a hole in the mouth of the envelope?"

"It was bitten by a rat!"

"Why do you bite so neatly?"

"It's a rat with dentures!"

"Why are there so many black handprints on the letter? What else is there? Yellow and brown sè?"

When Zichuan Xiu answered wordlessly, a conversation between Roger and Changchuan came from outside:

Roger (pinching his throat): "Jun'an, the Far East is cold, please pay attention to your body!"

Changchuan (rough voice): "Roger-kun, I pray for you! Since the bad guy of Your Excellency Xiuchuan can be saved by his soul, then you Roger, you are a good person who is even more qualified to go to hell!"

Roger exclaimed: "Master Sterling, I will expose you! The yellow water stain on the letter paper is like this: once when the adult went to the toilet and there was no new newspaper, he took the letter and went in to read it and laughed, but the laughter was so bad that the letter fell into the dung pit, and finally fished it up......"

He didn't have to say any more, there were already earth-shattering fighting sounds and Zi Chuanxiu's mournful cries for help from inside the room:

"Help! Come on!--Roger, you bastard!--Help!"

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Bidding farewell to Zichuan Xiu, Sterling hurried back to Dìdū at night, much faster than necessary to accept the deadline for the Senate hearing. The closer you get to dìdū, the more crowded the road becomes, and since it is the rìzi where the senators meet, almost all the nobles and wealthy families from all over the country come to dìdū to see the excitement. The roads were crowded with horse-drawn carriages of all kinds. Sterling was so anxious that he had to beg them to give way. Those arrogant aristocratic sons and young masters sent servants to inquire, "Who is behind it?"

Stirling's guards proudly replied, "Commander of the Zhōngyāng Army!"

The servant immediately bowed and hastened to return to his master. Whether it was a high-ranking official or a prominent family, they all immediately obediently pulled over the carriage and let Sterling go first. Some even came out to salute Sterling's flag. Not out of fear of the Lord's power, but out of respect for Sterling. Raheem Sterling has become the number one player in the hearts of the people!

Although he didn't want to be noticeable, the news of his reply to dìdū spread quickly.

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"A-Ning!" Cardin rushed into the living room with a gust of wind, his face flushed with excitement: "I heard a message on the way to pray!"

Did you hear that? Sterling turned back! He's back! The news was all over town, and it was saying everywhere that he was coming back, that he was coming back! What should I do! He's coming back!" She was a little incoherent with excitement.

Suddenly, she froze: the man who was sitting in the living room with his back to her turned around, but it wasn't Stirling!

What a change Sterling has been! In just a few months, he's getting a lot older. The scorching sun of the Far East had tanned his face black and rough, his young and handsome face was carved with the marks of wind and frost, and his temples had already appeared with a trace of gray hair—old and haggard, he was only twenty-five years old! Cardin's heart welled up with tender pity, and tears welled up in his eyes. At that time, his sweetheart had become the staunchest defender of the Zichuan family, a hero of all eyes, but he had only one hope for him, that is, to return safely, God, you finally heard my prayers.

She restrained herself and bowed deeply to Sterling: "Long time no see." Jun'an's demeanor is better than in the past!"

Sterling also bowed solemnly: "Qing'an." Qing can maintain the brilliance of green chūn will never wither, and will always be as beautiful as a bouquet of flowers!"

Cardin couldn't take it anymore and took the flowers. Tears came out of his eyes, but he could still finish the words: "Flowers will wither, faces will age, and only courage is the most beautiful of all things in the world." Jun has infinite courage, Jun is the most beautiful!"

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Zi Chuanning has been watching quietly from the side, seeing that the lovers can finally meet, she is also very happy for them, but she also feels funny: both parties have obviously loved each other to death, but they still have to pretend to be a serious answer, which is really not honest. I was about to continue looking with interest, but I found that Sterling's sharp eyes and Cardin's beautiful eyes looked at each other, and the gaze was soft and firm, revealing this meaning: Miss Zi Chuanning, you are undoubtedly beautiful and lovely, but if you can do us a favor now, then you can be called great!

"Hey, hey. Zichuan Ning laughed dryly and took a step towards the door.

Sterling and Cardin looked at her silently, saying nothing, and what a wealth of thought was contained in their eyes.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Zi Chuanning had just taken a step out of the door, and was surprised to find that the door had closed silently behind her, and the last scene she saw in the room was: Cardin threw himself into Sterling's arms, and the two of them were already hugging each other tightly.

"Cardin is happy. Zi Chuanning concluded in his heart: "Stirling has the advantages of a man: he is upright, brave, gentle, loyal to love, and has a great future. Such a person deserves Cardin's love for a while. ”

She felt a sense of loss and melancholy: why would anyone fall in love with a man who is not upright, not brave, not gentle, unfaithful to love, and has no future?

The sky was blue, stretching to the far east, to the Far East, to the land where loved ones fought. I miss you, Ah Xiu, have you ever known in the distance?

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