Newcastle.

Sophie gently put down the quill pen in her hand and looked down, only to find that a drop of ink had fallen on her white wrist at some point. She smiled lightly, wiped it away, touched her sour eyes, raised her head, and looked at the candle.

The windows were open, the night breeze blew in, the candles flickered, and the shadows of the people reflected seemed to be a little fluttering.

Sophie sighed softly, with a worried look on her brow, and looked at the hourglass in the room again.

At this time, it was already late at night.

As if she was waiting for something, the anxiety in her eyes grew stronger as the fine sand in the hourglass slowly flowed.

(Teacher, teacher, what you left me is really a heavy burden.) ）

Finally, moments later, there was the sound of hurried footsteps in the corridor outside the door, and Sophie was in good spirits. Soon, the door was pushed open, and a sturdy figure strode in, it was Juncker.

Juncker's face was solemn, and after entering the door, he nodded to Sophie, then turned around and closed the door carefully before walking to the desk and standing. "How's it going?"

Although she was anxious, when she finally asked, these emotions were not shown on her face at all, and Sophie's expression seemed to have returned to that calm and indifferent appearance again, and even the tone of her voice was as calm as ever.

Juncker took a deep breath and looked at the young girl in front of him, who was praised as the most outstanding disciple by his teacher Cavihill...... "After a little hesitation in his heart, he finally spoke: "It's not good." ”

Hearing Juncker's answer, Sophie's eyebrows furrowed slightly, and she glanced at Juncker: "Be specific." ”

Juncker smiled bitterly: "A few days ago, I began to pay attention to these people at your request. After a pause, he subconsciously looked out the window again, and then lowered his voice a little, and said: "According to what we knew before, there are four in the Northern Army who have an old relationship with the old duke, and three of them have walked out of the original Seventh Corps. After you gave me an order a few days ago, I quietly began to pay attention to these people. Both targets are now placed in the garrison to do idle duties, and I don't think it's very likely, so I'm focusing on two people. These two targets, in the past few days, one of the leading soldiers has been training and exercising, and he has not returned from the field, so there is no problem, and the problem is the No. 2 target. ”

Sophie nodded, she knew who Juncker's "second target" was, in fact, these suspicious targets were all circled by herself.

This No. 2 target, born in the Seventh Corps, was later in the reorganization of the Northern Army, and it was also the first batch to fall to Char and put on a cooperative posture, so it was not affected in the process of purging, and he also served in the newly established First Corps of the Northern Army, and he also mastered part of the military power, a banner and regiment-level general.

Originally, all this would not be a problem, but with the news from the imperial capital, after the Duke of Minas returned, Sophie immediately keenly caught the danger signal!

As the most outstanding disciple of Kavihir, he has been taught by his teacher for many years by his side, and he is in the imperial capital, where the power is most intense, and he is naturally extremely familiar with all kinds of struggles.

The comeback of the Duke of Minas, the impact and the bad situation, Sophie can naturally judge.

Moreover, she immediately keenly anticipated the role that Char would play in this high-level confrontation in the imperial capital: Adric's strong foreign aid.

The comeback of the Duke of Minas must be a blow to this emerging power in the north, and the best way to do it is to secretly win over the old ones.

It can be said that at the beginning, when Sophie asked Juncker to quietly "pay attention" to these targets, Juncker was opposed.

Juncker's reason is very simple: in the Northern Army, we are all newcomers from outside, and we have not really integrated into this group, and now doing this kind of "surveillance" thing, in case of violence, will arouse the disgust of the generals in the Northern Army.

However, at Sophie's insistence, Juncker had to agree to Sophie's request. "Target No. 2 has behaved a little unusually in the last few days, he has sold the land he has subdivided in Siltan County, nominally to the middle and lower rank officers in the army, I think this may be a kind of buying people's hearts, of course, more importantly, he is afraid that he has no intention of staying in the north for a long time. As far as I know, he has repeatedly mentioned the Central Army, and the Seventh Corps, "and seems to be testing, consciously or unconsciously, the reaction of some other officers, and that he has recently submitted several documents on military plans......" These things have not yet reached the date of submission, but they were submitted to the commander's mansion in advance, but he himself did not go around the commander's mansion, it stands to reason that the chief officer should submit the documents of this level in person, and if there is a problem, the boss can also ask in person, so, I think he may have deliberately covered people's eyes, those documents, I am not qualified to go through and intercept them, but ............"

"But nothing. Sophie looked very calm, glanced at Juncker, smiled slightly, and said, "What do you mean, ...... "Green?"

Green!

The second commander in the Northern Army, second only to Char's core figure, is the pillar that maintains the operation of the Northern Army. What's more, in the Northern Army, the old Duke of Minas, if you talk about it carefully, Green is the most drought! He is not just an ordinary old man, but a disciple of the Duke of Minas, and a descendant of the Imperial Academy!

However, in the previous surveillance operations, both Sophie and Juncker seem to have deliberately ignored this biggest target and avoided talking about Green.

At this moment, without waiting for Juncker to talk about it, Sophie took the initiative to mention it, and her words were calm, which surprised Juncker a little. Looking at Sophie, Juncker hesitated, but finally didn't say anything, but the expression on his face was undoubtedly acquiescing. There will be no problem with "holding ......". Sophie frowned and thought for a while, and added: "Even if there is, the problem is not big, I know very well his temperament, he is a very pure soldier, and he will not be involved in this kind of thing." I believe that he can distinguish between righteousness and subsection, and will not do anything to betray Char. I'm not worried about that, I'm just worried about what stupid things a person like him will do......"

Juncker sighed, looked at Sophie, and said in a low voice: "Sophie, let's stop in moderation, I still insist on my opinion: with your and my identities, it is not suitable to participate in this kind of thing at this time, we are all newcomers from outside, there is no foundation in the northern army, this kind of internal matter, we are involved in it, if we are misunderstood, we will ...... in the future"

Sophie nodded, her expression calm: I understand. ”

Suddenly smiling, Sophie said softly to Junker: "Junker, you are my senior brother, and you are also the teacher's disciple before his death, and now the situation is complicated, and the career left by the teacher is pinned on the guy Char, and also on the group of the Northern Army, so you and I have no room for retreat and choice, at this time, some small concerns, don't think about it." Trust me, okay?"

Juncker sighed: "How can I not believe you? It's just ...... "Sophie, this kind of struggle has always been a struggle for power, and it will lead to death! I have been in the palace for many years, and I have seen it most clearly. If this matter is revealed, the officers and generals in the army will be disgusted with us if they know about our quiet monitoring actions, and that's all. What's more, our actions were carried out without Char's permission, although Char's guy is good, but when it comes to this kind of power, if he comes back, we will be held responsible, after all, it is ultra vires to spy on the generals in the army without his permission!" Sophie shook her head: "Besides, we are doing this to maintain the stability of his northern army, and it is for his good." ”

"That's what I said. Juncker smiled bitterly: "Even if Char understands our good intentions, but ...... "If the generals in the army are disgusted with us, Char wants to appease the dissatisfaction in the army, and maybe they will throw us out to calm the anger of the people as scapegoats." ”

"Hehe, be a scapegoat, then ......" is not bad. Sophie actually laughed, and the girl smiled as if she was a little happy, which made Juncker stunned.

Just looking at Sophie's smile as if it was unfathomable, Juncker sighed secretly in his heart: That's it, anyway, I can never guess her mind - it seems that this little junior sister is the most similar to the teacher, and the thoughts of people like them are difficult for others to guess.

Sophie groaned for a while, but suddenly stood up and smiled at Juncker: "Come with me." ”

"Where to go?"

"Let's go meet Green. Sophie said slowly: "If you stabilize him now, you will stabilize the overall situation, and the actions of other imps are not a real threat." Green, he's not going to mess around, I'm just worried about him doing stupid things. ”

As she spoke, Sophie had already strode to the door, and Juncker behind her looked sluggish, but she instinctively followed.

At this time...... "Go to see Green?"

Could it be that Sophie, Sophie, she has to confront Ge Mo face to face?!

Sophie's "chief of staff" was also in the Commander's Mansion, not too far from the military affairs office of Chief Poison Green, and the two walked out, refusing the escort of the guards to follow, but just went to the military affairs office as if they were casually.

When I came to the military affairs office, I was told by Green's adjutant that General Green was not in the room, but went out, and no one knew where it was, but when the general left, he refused to be followed, and went out alone to spread air.

When Sophie heard this, she smiled: "In that case, I'll wait in the room for the general to come back."

Green's adjutant did not refuse this request.

Although Green's office is confidential to the entire Northern Army, this kind of secrecy has no restrictions on Sophie, the "chief of staff", in fact, the decision-making of the current high-level of the Northern Army basically has the shadow of Sophie's participation. In the past, Sophie came to talk to Green about things, and when Green was not there, she could calmly enter his study and wait.

The Northern Army is now gradually separating the military and the government, Green is in charge of military affairs, and Sophie, the chief of staff, is handling government affairs, which Char has clearly indicated.

Moreover, even if he took a step back, there was really any high-level secret in military affairs that could not be known to others, and that kind of secret, Green would not keep it in his study at will.

However, Sophie went into the study and waited, but the door was open. Green's bodyguards and adjutant were just outside the door, which was also the proper meaning of the question.

Sophie entered the study this time, but instead of just sitting on a chair and waiting as before, she stood in the room, looking at Green's desk, and there was a hint of strangeness in her eyes.

On top of Green's desk, there were a few pieces of burnt ashes, obviously some kind of burned paper or something. It's just a little bit of ash, but it's very noticeable.

Sophie sighed, she knew that something had already happened!

Green's motto is: Nothing can be said to anyone!

He has always acted above board, even though he is dealing with military affairs, he has never been autocratic, even if there is any confidential matter in the army, if he really wants to deal with it, he will convene the high-level of the northern army to discuss it and deal with it.

It seems that in the study, what documents are directly and quietly burned and not shown to others, but it is very rare.

The military and government affairs of the Northern Army have always tried their best to be transparent, and the official documents handed over below will be specifically approved.

This kind of burning of documents without permission does not comply with the regulations. Green will never quietly decide anything big alone, and he, the "No. 2 core," is very scrupulous in his role as his deputy, pays attention to his actions, and never gives people the impression of "authoritarian".

Sophie thought of this, so she smiled and invited one of Green's adjutant outside the door in, as if she was just casually greeting her.

She is the chief of staff, although she is young, but since she has been in the Northern Army these days, whether it is Green or Char, they have respected her very much, and the following officers have to maintain respect for her.

In the face of Sophie's greetings, the adjutant was a little restrained, but he still made Sophie ask the answers she needed.

"The general doesn't seem to be in a good mood today, he went into the study in the afternoon and didn't come out, and he didn't even use dinner, and in the evening, he went out for a while, saying that it was breathable, and didn't let us follow, and then came back, it seemed that the mood was still not very good, and the food sent was not eaten, but it was just overnight and approved some of the following official documents, so that we sent them out overnight, and dealt with the accumulated things, and then went out again, this time it was to breathe and disperse, and he didn't bring anyone, but he just let the guards lead the horse, and he thought that he was riding a horse in the city。 ”

When Sophie heard this, her eyes immediately changed!

"You mean...... "General Green went out once in the evening and came back, and after he was done with military affairs, he went out again?" "Yes. The adjutant smiled: "The general has not been in a good mood today, it's good to go out to breathe, the general is too busy with official business on weekdays, and rarely has time to relax and go out for a walk, and we also think it is good for his body." ”

Sophie smiled bitterly, looked at the lieutenant, and said, "In that case, I'll come and talk to Master Green tomorrow, and I won't bother tonight." ”

She said that she was leaving, and although others wondered why the chief of staff had waited for a while to leave, they were not easy to ask.

Sophie and Juncker left the military affairs office, and immediately quickened their pace, Sophie walked in a hurry, and even trotted all the way towards the gate of the commander's palace, behind Juncker was confused, and couldn't help but say loudly: "Sophie, you ......"

"Quick!Junker, go find two horses!Don't make a noise, just say I'm going out for a ride!Quick!!"

Juncker looked at Sophie's face, and finally lost his usual composure, but showed an anxious look, and couldn't help but sink in his heart: "What's wrong?"

Sophie stomped Junker's heart, and Sophie had already preemptively said: "Now is not the time to speak! Go find Malay! Maybe you will be able to catch up with him! Alas, this fool! Fool! I was worried that he would do something stupid, and he did something stupid!"

Juncker didn't dare to ask more, and immediately went to find two horses, and the two rushed out of the commander's mansion, and rode their horses and galloped, Sophie rode a few steps on horseback, but suddenly grabbed the reins, frowned, and said: "Go to the north gate!"

Juncker was stunned: "He, if he wants to ......"

"You don't understand, even if Green leaves, he will never go south to the imperial capital! He has no intention of betraying Char, but he is also afraid that he will not be able to let go of his friendship with the Duke of Minas, this time, not to go to the imperial capital to join the duke, but to resign and leave, this is a dilemma and have to make a choice! We go north, we will definitely be able to catch up with him!"

Saying that, the two went all the way to the north city gate, and sure enough, when they came to the city gate, Sophie showed her token, and the city gate defenders opened the door to let Sophie ask, and sure enough, I heard the defenders say that just an hour ago, General Green went out of the city from here, Green is the position of commander in the army, and the defenders didn't dare to ask, but let him go out all the way north.

After Sophie and Juncker left the city, they hurried all the way without stopping for a moment, and they rode for about an hour, and it was already the second half of the night. Sophie was certainly tired and sweaty, and Juncker was also a little panting.

Although the horses under the crotch are good war horses, they gallop so wildly all the way down without stopping, and the two of them don't care about the horsepower, blindly driving the whip and galloping, and the horses gradually can't stand it.

Although Sophie was sweating profusely, her expression gradually calmed down. She knew very well that if she chased like this, she would probably be able to catch up with Green.

Although Green left alone, although Green was a good rider and his mount must be a good horse, after he left, he would definitely take care of the horsepower, and would not squeeze the horse's physical strength so desperately, but would take into account the future journey.

At this moment, the moon was in the sky, the stars were all over the sky, and the two rode on the road to the north, and finally, they saw a small forest in the distance, and there was a faint fire in the woods, Sophie's heart struck: "It's there!"

The woods were beside the road, and the two of them rode their horses and galloped away, and sure enough, they saw a bonfire beside the woods, and a horse fell beside the tree.

A figure from a distance looked at Grimm himself, who had already heard the sound of horses' hooves in the distance, and Grimm had already stood up, standing by the campfire, holding a sword tightly in his hand, and his eyes looked at the two horsemen in the distance, and his expression was a little gloomy.

Sophie rushed directly to the fire, and then grabbed the reins, how good can she be for a girl's riding, so hurried, almost rolled off the horse, Green frowned, and finally stepped forward, reached out to help her pull the reins and control the horse, and at the same time helped Sophie off the horse with one hand.

Sophie landed on the ground, and stared at Green tightly, Green glanced at Juncker, who also turned over and dismounted behind Sophie, with a hint of vigilance in his eyes, and the sword in his hand tightened.

"General Greene. Sophie took a deep breath, and before her breath subsided, she stared into Green's eyes: "What is the general doing when he is alone here late at night with the heavy responsibility of the Northern Army?"

Green's expression was gloomy, he originally had a somewhat wooden expression, but at this moment, it looked more and more solemn, looked at Sophie for a long time, and finally sighed, his voice was also a little hoarse: "I don't do dark things, since you came here, I believe you also understand my intentions...... What's the matter, Chief of Staff, are you here to arrest me?"

At the last word, the sword in his hand was already horizontal in front of his chest.

Junker saw that Green was holding his sword, and he stepped forward early, protecting Sophie's side, and had already drawn the sword he carried in his hand, looking at Green.

Seeing the confrontation between the two, the atmosphere was a little stiff, but Sophie suddenly smiled, stepped forward, looked at Green and said with a smile: "What did the general say, you and I are colleagues after all, so friends travel far away, how can I not come and send it?"

After a pause, Sophie looked at Grimm's eyes and worried, so she deliberately sighed: "We are just two people, I am just a weak woman, although General Juncker is strong, but Master Green has been through a hundred battles, so naturally he is not afraid, how can he be so like a great enemy? If I have the intention to harm the general, it will not be the two of us who will be chased, but a team of iron horsemen." ”

Hearing this, Green snorted, dropped his sword, and looked up at Sophie.

Sophie sighed, pointed to the fire, and whispered, "Please sit down and talk." ”

As she spoke, she sat down on the ground by the fire without waiting for Grimm to speak, and Juncker put away his sword and stood still behind Sophie.

Green's face was cloudy, he hesitated for a moment, and finally walked over slowly and sat down opposite Sophie.

Sophie tilted her head to Juncker, who immediately handed over a wine bag that she had taken off her horse, and Sophie opened it and smiled: "Since it's a gift, how can there be no wine!

Saying that, her little woman unscrewed the cork, and really drank three sips, the wine was strong and spicy, and the choked Sophie coughed violently a few times, and then handed the wine bag to Green, who frowned slightly, and took it solemnly, and took three sips.

"Well, I've drunk the wine, Chief of Staff, if you come to see me off, it's considered to have been delivered, and if there's anything else—I'll go away. Green tossed the wine bag aside and looked at Sophie coldly.

Sophie sighed faintly, and suddenly smiled: "Where is the general going?"

, Well, I don't deny that when I wrote this episode, I thought of the story of Xiao He Yuexia chasing Han Xin. He said, "Alas, Green, Green, I'm afraid he's gone!!"