In the middle of the night, he was woken up again, and Zichuan Xiu, who was also tired and bloodshot eyes, was standing in front of him.

"I've been waiting. Let's have a cup of tea first. I'm sorry, I could have come back sooner, but there was a bit of a mess in the third town - I really let Mero tell me right, a Goya died, and the demon soldiers really wanted to make trouble. ”

Knowing that the loss of control of the army was one of the most terrifying disasters in the world, Fang Yun immediately asked, "Ah! there is no big chaos, right?"

"I grabbed the leader and cut off a dozen heads, and it's okay for the time being. Zi Chuanxiu said lightly, sitting down on the chair, concentrating, the dust and tiredness of his body slowly slipped from his body.

Zi Chuanxiu raised his head and took a sip of tea, and said to the guards who followed him: "Inform Du Yafeng to bring a Xiuzi battalion brigade to the nearest third town to monitor." As soon as there is chaos, take it down immediately, and kill him! Tell him, I have already handed Bai Chuan a warrant for this matter, so that he does not have to wait for the order to delay the time. It's a warrant, take it!"

The guards bowed and took the order.

Fang Yun was also a lot more sober, and sighed: "Adults are really hard to take care of all opportunities." ”

"It's okay. Zi Chuanxiu sighed tiredly: "We haven't seen each other for a long time, I originally wanted to have a good chat with you, but now it seems that time is probably not enough: the staff is urging me, there is a new movement on the Di Lin side, I have to go over to have a joint combat meeting at five o'clock, and then I have to hurry up and squint, let's make a long story short - who are you?"

"Huh?" Fang Yun's heart was shocked: "What the lord means, the lower officials don't understand it very well......

"Less. Zi Chuanxiu's voice was weak, but the chill between the words was as awe-inspiring as a sword: "You were entrusted by Minghui to come and listen to His Royal Highness Ning to see if she was coerced by me, and also to see if I had the intention of coercing the Son of Heaven to order the princes-"

Seeing Fang Yun open his mouth and say, Zi Chuanxiu waved his hand to interrupt him: "This, don't deny it, otherwise it will be an insult to my IQ." It's not for the friendship in the expeditionary force in the past, just based on the words you said in front of His Highness Ning, even if you have Minghui behind your back, I will still beat you to death tonight and find a place to bury you. ”

Zi Chuanxiu's voice was not high, and he even seemed a little weak, but Fang Yun was drenched in cold sweat when he heard it, and his face was pale.

The white-haired young man in front of him said unmoved about the intimidation of killing people, and he could feel the domineering spirit of the other party looking down on the world. The red-clothed flag book of the Zichuan family, the envoy of the Northwest Army, and the secret spy of the wind and frost - these identities are not much different from a chicken to be slaughtered in the eyes of the other party.

In troubled times, a giant like Zichuan Xiu really kills himself in a matter of words. No one will offend the rising overlord of the Far East for themselves.

Zi Chuanxiu drank tea and said calmly: "You are an officer of the family, but you are also the internal response of the Liufeng family, you are a subordinate of Minghui, but your real identity is a person of the Flowing Wind and Frost, and now you are here to sow discord between me and His Royal Highness Ning, making the situation even more complicated - I don't like this." As the leader of the family, I should kill you as a spy, right?"

Fang Yun slipped down from the chair and knelt on the ground: "I am guilty, my lord spares my life!"

"Give me a reason not to kill you. Tell me why you're here. ”

Fang Yun explained honestly. Minghui did send him to inquire about the intelligence, to see the next move of the Far East Army, and to see if Zi Chuan Xiu had the intention of coercing the Son of Heaven to order the princes, but what he said in front of Zi Chuan Ning was not Ming Hui's instruction - Ming Hui did not have the courage to oppose Zi Chuan Xiu now - that was actually the meaning of the wind and frost.

Regarding the fact that Zichuan Xiu raised troops to help Zichuan Ning restore the country, the princess of the Liufeng family was very unimpressed. According to her thoughts, the longer the Zichuan family is in turmoil, the better, and it is best to be torn apart and collapsed from now on. She didn't understand, why Zi Chuanxiu wanted to help Zi Chuanning fight Di Lin? Back then, Zi Chuanxiu drew his sword as a chest to protect Zi Chuanning, this is a mustard that has always been hidden in Princess Liufeng's heart, and Princess Liufeng Shuang is very worried: Could it be that they are now rekindling their old love?

But Princess Liufeng also knew that there was another possibility in the matter, that is, Zi Chuan Xiu helped Zi Chuan Ning not just for himself. His attack on Dilin was nothing more than a hegemonic war in which one warlord eliminated another, and Zi Chuanning was just a puppet in his hands that symbolized righteousness and orthodoxy. With the status and strength of Shikawa Xiujin, this possibility is also there.

Therefore, Princess Liufeng's instruction to Fang Yun was surprisingly similar to Minghui's: "Find out Zi Chuanxiu's intentions, does he want to help Zi Chuan's family restore the country, or does he want to establish himself as emperor?" - it's just that Princess Liufeng also added a small task: if it's convenient, help me stir up the relationship between him and Zi Chuanning, so that they can be suspicious, that's even better!

Fang Yun's answer shocked Zi Chuanxiu very much, Liu Fengshuang was jealous, she was actually jealous!

Although she fell in love with her, Zichuan Xiu didn't treat Liufeng Shuang as an ordinary girl. This wise and determined woman, in Zi Chuan Xiu's eyes, her every move, every smile is so beautiful, pure, and flawless, she is the god in Zi Chuan Xiu's mind - at this moment, someone suddenly sued him, and the god would be jealous.

Although she is gorgeous and gorgeous, she is still a young woman of twenty-three years old after all. She is just a princess in the world, not a fairy in the sky, realizing this, Zi Chuanxiu has an indescribable feeling in her heart, like joy and sorrow, difficult to describe.

He asked Fang Yun lightly: "Then according to what you see, what is my idea?"

"This ......" Fang Yun smiled awkwardly. This question is difficult to answer, if Zichuan Xiu is loyal to the family to restore the country, then he will offend Liufeng Shuang, and if he intends to rebel, Minghui will also be unhappy. He could only say in a slur manner: "Your intentions are unfathomable, and it is really beyond the guesses of the lower officials. ”

"Then if you go back and make such a report, how can your two masters be satisfied?"

"This ...... The lower officials are dull, and they can't get a glimpse of the deep meaning of the adults, so there's no way to do it......"

Zi Chuan Xiu stared at him intently, and Fang Yun had the courage to raise his head to look at him. The two sides looked at each other for a full five seconds, and Zi Chuanxiu burst into a burst of cheerful laughter, and he patted Fang Yun's shoulder hard: "Okay, very good!"

Fang Yun didn't know why, but since Zi Chuanxiu smiled, he also grinned happily.

"Fang Yun, you go down first. Don't hurry back first, I'll look for you again in the next few days. ”

Hearing this, Fang Yun was pardoned. He hurriedly said goodbye, and when he walked to the door, Zi Chuanxiu's questioning voice came from behind him: "Fang Yun, I'm very strange: in the Liufeng family, you are just a small spy of their military intelligence bureau, on our side, you have already climbed to the high position of deputy commander, and it is not impossible to enter the command office in the future." Why do you want to serve them, what's the benefit?"

Fang Yun's figure stiffened suddenly.

He turned around and said bitterly, "My lord, I have served the Zichuan family for twenty years, far exceeding the time I have served the Liufeng family. The Zichuan family also repaid me and made me a privileged high-ranking general, which the Liufeng family never gave me. But if I really have to make a choice, I can't help it, I can only stand on the side of the Liufeng family. Although the Zichuan family gave me a high-ranking official, the Liufeng family controlled my life and death! No matter how high I climbed, as long as the Liufeng family said: 'Fang Yun, he is our undercover agent!' then I will only have a dead end.

"My lord, I didn't want to do it for a long time, but the Zichuan family is using me more and more, constantly promoting me, so the value of my chess piece is getting bigger and bigger, and the Liufeng family is even more unwilling to let me go.

"For twenty years, I have had nightmares every night, and every night I can't sleep until dawn, and I can only open my eyes and look at the night fear: How long will it be?

I regret it, why did I embark on this path? If I had served in the Flowing Wind Army, according to my ability and luck, I might have been a lieutenant general by now -- not to mention a lieutenant general, even a petty officer would be better than this!

"My lord, what good is it for me? If I had been killed during the Dilin cleansing, my coffin would have been covered with two national flags, one was the Flying Eagle Flag of the Zichuan family and the other was the Maple Leaf Flag of the Liufeng family. That way, I'll be a little warmer inside. This is the benefit I have received over the years. ”

Speaking of the last sentence, Fang Yun smiled, but tears flowed from his eyes. At this moment, the face of the most successful high-ranking spy of the Flowing Wind Family revealed real sorrow, as well as exhaustion and boredom that went deep into the bone marrow.

Zi Chuanxiu was silent, and after a long time, he waved his hand. Fang Yun bowed knowingly: "It's a matter of delaying your time, my lord, and the official will leave." ”

Watching his staggering back slowly disappear into the night, Zi Chuanxiu was a little dazed. This Fang Yun, who is not only a senior general of the Zichuan family, but also the internal response of the Liufeng family, has always thought that he is proud of the left and right, but he didn't expect that he was so bitter and embarrassed in his heart.

In this troubled world, no one lives easily!

The winter of 786 was particularly long. In those cold and windy rìzi, the entire continent watched with bated breath on the vast plains east of the Dìdū and the Vagne River, where the imminent collision of two vast armed groups would decide the fate of the continent.

On December 5, Governor Óss Kovich declared anyway. He finally took off the mask he had been hiding and officially stood in the ranks of the rebel army.

For Covic's mutiny, there were preparations for this morning. The three military police divisions of the Supervision Department stationed in the city immediately went out and launched a fierce attack on the garrison barracks outside the city.

The inhabitants of the capital of Oscar were frightened by the loud roar coming from outside the city, and the battle lasted for two days and two nights, until noon on the third day, when a cavalry from Bartley ended the tug-of-war. This is a cavalry unit from the province of Enron, one of the few cavalry units in the rebel army.

Although only more than 3,000 cavalry arrived on the battlefield, Imashi immediately understood that since Enron's garrison had arrived for reinforcements, the rest of the rebel army would also arrive at any time. Thinking of the huge coalition of seventeen provinces on the side of the rebel army, Imasai immediately ordered the withdrawal from the battle and the withdrawal of troops to the city.

The cavalry of the rebel army did not take the opportunity to attack the city, and after a brief meeting between the governor of Enron, Mehai, and the Governor of Enron had a brief meeting with Kovich, the cavalry units began to cover the evacuation of the garrison of Oss Province. Seeing that the other side was retreating in an orderly manner, and it was not clear whether the other side still had a receiving force nearby, the tired Jinxi troops did not dare to pursue, and watched as the Oss garrison withdrew from the city.

The "Oss garrison anyway incident", this event itself is not big, and the battle is not very fierce, but this battle has left an immortal reputation in history, for no other reason, because later generations usually regard this local battle as a sign of the beginning of a magnificent decisive battle between the two heroes. From this moment on, history began to move rapidly.

On December 12, the brave general of the Supervision Department, Shabro, led the four divisions of the "Long Knife", "Perseverance", "Decisive Death", and "Brave Fight", suddenly arrived in Oss to meet with Jinxi, and informed the other party that the main force of the Supervision Department was about to arrive in the whole division, and the decisive battle was just around the corner.

Shabro said: "The main force of the Great Army's headquarters will arrive within three days, and my task is to crush the obstacles in the way of the advance of the army and strive for a favorable strategic situation for the decisive battle."

Having dealt with the Far Eastern Army, Imashi repeatedly emphasized the strength of the rebel army, but Shabro scoffed: "The Far Eastern Army can really fight the Xiuzi battalion and the half-orc veterans of less than thirty teams, and the others are all newly cobbled together miscellaneous soldiers, relying on the bluff of many people, and really fighting tough battles, they can't do it!"

The commander of the Far East is a veteran who can fight, and I admit that I am not as good as him, and he will leave it to Lord Di Lin to deal with personally, as for the others, forget it! It would be good for Bai Chuan and Lin Bing to take care of their own makeup boxes, Ming Yu can only knock on the abacus, and the orcs can't even tell the difference between their left and right feet! And the so-called provincial coalition army, I can blow them all away with a fart! It's just a rabble!"

In the end, Shabro persuaded Imanishi with strong confidence and courage to take the initiative with his new troops.

A rebel force unexpectedly pounced on Bartley, attacking and routed the forces of Governor Óss Kovich and Governor Enron Mihai. Because they didn't expect that the troops of the Supervision Department, who had been on the defensive, actually took the initiative to attack, and the garrisons along the way were torn apart by this sudden army. The rebels then pursued the defeated soldiers and drove all the way to Shagang, a major border town in Bartley Province.

At this time, Shagang is the frontier town of the confrontation between the rebel army and the rebels, and there are many rebel soldiers and horses stationed in Shagang, here, there are five red-clothed banners stationed in the Governor of Bartley, Waxin, the Governor of Cannes, Colral, the Governor of Bach, Wei Min, the Governor of Mulensky, Lin Hua, the Governor of Buhe, and Xie Na, the Governor of Buhe, with 50,000 troops, which is not much weaker than the Shabro troops outside the city.

But as the proverb goes, "Strength is inversely proportional to the number of companions." "When there are many people, things are troublesome. At the on-the-spot combat meeting, the governors made jīngcai speeches in different styles, although the choice of words and sentences has its own characteristics, but the core meaning is the same: "You resist, I will break through and report this important news to the commander of Xiuchuan!"

In order to debate who was the best candidate to "break through and ask for help", the governors quarreled endlessly, saying that it was better to leave such a small task as delivering a letter to the subordinates, so why bother your Excellency.

As a result, the meeting lasted for three hours, and the governors were exhausted by the verbal and foaming of the mouth, and finally there was a stalemate. The garrison generals at the head of the city came in several times to report that the enemy had approached the city and that the head of the city was short of troops, and asked the adults to send reinforcements from the troops in the city quickly. But seeing the rebels outside the city, the governors were reluctant to spend their men in brutal siege and defense battles. Although the garrison pleaded with tears, the rumble of the siege was followed by a loud sound, and the governors all pretended not to hear it, and they all had the same thought: "Anyway, the four of them are not in a hurry, what am I anxious about? If they want reinforcements, they will send troops first!"

After a stalemate for a long time, the weakly defended city defense of Shagang City could not even survive the first round of attacks, the city gate was suddenly broken, and the garrison soldiers at the head of the city scattered and fled. The city defense was conquered so easily, and if there was a change of commander, such as Imashi here, maybe he would have suspected that this was a trick of the defenders, but Shabro was a figure who was not afraid of heaven and earth, and he howled excitedly: "Kill! Rush in with me and kill all the rebels!"

Under the command of such a commander, the morale of the gendarmes rose sharply, and the cries were like thunder, and they poured into the city.

When they heard that the rebels had entered the city, the governors panicked and ordered their troops to resist. But one side is like a rainbow of morale and an offensive like cháo, and the other side is in a hurry to meet the battle, and the hands are in a hurry. That's not all, at this time, the five commanders of the red-clothed banner were not busy with how to deploy troops to counterattack the enemy out of the city, but quarreled and shirked responsibility: "I said it would be like this! It's all your fault, don't send reinforcements earlier!"

The five-way rebel army fought separately, and was attacked by the Supervision Office one by one, not even in the afternoon, the garrison of Cannes Province could not support it, seeing that the remnants of the soldiers were in danger, the governor of Corral could no longer care about arguing with his colleagues in the conference room, he asked the other four colleagues for help, and the governors all hummed haha: "Colral, we are also very tight over there!"

"Just kidding, I still need reinforcements over there!"

After begging for a while to no avail, Corral was furious: "If you don't do it, it's not okay for Lao Tzu to leave!"

He slammed the door on the spot and left the conference room and returned to his camp. Half an hour later, a white flag was raised in front of the Cannes provincial army, and Corral sent someone to announce to the Ombudsman that the Cannes provincial army wanted to withdraw from the war.

Shabro readily agreed: "Colral, I have no enmity with you in Cannes. You go through the east gate, and we haven't blocked it yet. ”

Kolar didn't talk nonsense either, and withdrew from the east gate with his troops. The retreat of the Cannes provincial army brought great passivity to the defenders of the rebel army, not only did a large piece of the defense line vacate a large block, but more importantly, the retreat of the Cannes defenders caused the morale of the other troops to drop sharply, and the already unbearable situation was even more degraded.

In the evening, the defenders exhausted the last trace of fighting spirit, and the whole line collapsed, although the officers desperately shouted to supervise the battle, the officers and soldiers still disregarded the weapons and flags, and rushed to the east gate to escape, the military police of the Supervision Department pursued and killed behind, and the sound of killing was shocking.

Under the escort of the guards, the four governors fought their way out of a bloody way and escaped, but their subordinates were not so lucky, the defeated soldiers collapsed like water, the east gate was blocked by the waves of the defeated soldiers, seeing that there was no hope of escape, some soldiers skillfully took off their uniforms, mixed into the houses and pretended to be local civilians, more soldiers simply stood in place, saw the banner of the Supervision Office from a distance, quickly dropped their weapons and squatted down and raised their hands over their heads, groups of soldiers put down their weapons and surrendered to the Supervision Office in groups, the swords and spears captured by the gendarmes were piled up all over the street, and the flow of captured soldiers was endless。

Shagang, an important town with 50,000 troops, could not resist even a day under the attack of 50,000 gendarmes, and when the news arrived, the headquarters of the commander of the Far Eastern Army was so shocked that no one spoke for ten minutes. Lin Bing was so angry that his face turned white: "Waste! Even if it is 50,000 pigs, the Supervision Department can't kill them all in a day-50,000 people, can't they even wait for us to come over for reinforcements for two days!"

This humiliating news even shocked Zi Chuanning, who had been living in seclusion, and sent Li Qing over to inquire about the news: "I heard that the rebel army seems to be a little uncomfortable? Does it matter? Do we need to prepare to retreat?"

Although Li Qing asked very tactfully, the meaning of his words still made the Far Eastern generals so ashamed that they wanted to wipe their necks and commit suicide.

Zichuan Xiu summoned the four defeated governors, and after listening to their trembling reports, he did not seem to be angry, but said very calmly: "You are responsible for this defeat. ”

The four governors knelt down: "The lower officials are guilty of their crimes, and they are willing to be punished by the adults." ”

"The family has strict military discipline, and there are rewards for military achievements, and defeat will naturally be punished. I intend to report to His Highness Ning for approval to remove you from your duties as governors. Of course, the rank of the Red Banner will also be demoted by two levels to the Deputy Banner, what specific position will I report to His Royal Highness Ning for discussion, before it is confirmed, how about you help with the counselor by my side first?"

The dismissal of the governor from the post of governor and the fall from the red-clothed flag book to the position of the deputy flag book cannot but be said to be a heavy punishment. But the governors were relieved to hear this: their heads were saved. You must know that according to the previous practice of the family, every time there is a big defeat, you must be held accountable and cut off a few heads, otherwise you will not be able to explain to the fallen soldiers.

The governors said in unison: "Thank you for not killing!"

"Don't be too discouraged. Life is bumpy, and it is inevitable to fall on your heels. When the family is employing people, there are many opportunities to make meritorious contributions, as long as you are willing to work hard, it is not impossible to start over. ”

"Thank you, sir!"

The Governor of Waxin, who should now be said to be the deputy flag of Waxin, boldly said: "My lord, the defeat and humiliation of the country in this battle, and the unforgivable crime of the lower officials, I really dare not shirk my responsibility. But Xia Guan feels really wronged, you know, the biggest responsibility is not our ......"

"You mean, because someone is more responsible, and he is not punished, so you are not convinced?"

"The lower officials will never dare!"

"The rewards and punishments of the family are clear, merit must be rewarded, and crime must be punished. Waxin, just wait and see. ”

Under the gray and yellow light, Zi Chuanning stared blankly at a page of official documents on the desktop.

"Your Highness, it's late at night, it's time to rest. ”

The door curtain moved lightly, and the head of Li Qing's guard walked in and said respectfully to Zi Chuanning.

As if someone in his sleep was suddenly woken up, Zi Chuanning raised his head: "Is it late?" ”

"Your Highness, it's almost twelve o'clock. If you don't rest early, how will you meet with the elders and representatives of the people in the Dìdū area tomorrow? There are dark circles under your eyes, but they will affect the image of the chief!" Li Qing said relaxedly, while neatly helping Zi Chuanning make the bed: "Your Highness, do you want a bowl of snow fungus soup before going to bed? You don't seem to have rested very well recently, drink this to calm your mind." ”

"I still don't want it, I'm afraid of being fat. Zi Chuanning chuckled, but the faint solemnity between his eyebrows still lingered. Li Qing immediately noticed: "Your Highness, what is there to worry about? ”

On the escape road, the two lived and died together, plus Li Qing's husband Sterling also died for the family, in the bottom of his heart, Zi Chuanning had already handed over this handkerchief as a sister who had nothing to talk about, not to mention that this was not a secret, Zi Chuanning had no scruples: "It was reported over there that a governor had violated military law, and the headquarters and the Far East Army both said that they wanted to kill him, and now they have reported it and asked me to sign it." ”

"Ah, what's the matter?" Li Qing asked, the movements of his hands were not slow at all, and he helped Zi Chuanning lay out the quilt.

"They said that he had negotiated peace with the rebels in the Battle of Shagang, and that he had led his team to flee and leave the army, so he was to be executed. ”

"I heard Waxin tell me about this. The day before yesterday he went to my place and cried that he had been wronged, that a governor named Ko had harmed them......"

"Colral, that governor is called Colral, and he is the governor of Cannes. ”

"I remember, it's Colral. Li Qing thought thoughtfully: "Your Highness, I remember that this Colar came with Pu Xin, and he came to see you a few times, and he also gave you gifts--However, Lord Lin is now in charge of the military law of the Far East Army, and she is a very fair person, since she also thinks that this person should be killed, then she really should be killed." It is said that if he colluded with the rebels and fled, it would not be unjust to kill him. ”

"I know he should be killed, but ......" Zichuan Ning stopped again, looking at the text on the table, she smiled bitterly and shook her head helplessly. Zi Chuanning participated in and commanded the defense of dìdū and experienced the battle scenes of blood and fire. However, as a military commander, she knew that her orders would lead to the sacrifice and bloodshed, but the people who sacrificed and shed blood were abstract symbols: soldiers, officers, and civilians, whom she had never seen in person. Moreover, those bloody and tricky things were handled by Di Lin at that time, and she was not contaminated with too much blood.

Now, she was going to sign the execution of one of her subordinates, and the deprivation of the life of one of her subordinates who was very respectful to her—even though she knew that he did deserve it—and the heavy pressure made Zi Chuanning very uncomfortable, and her heart was heavy.

"Since he deserves to die, Brother Ah Xiu can't just deal with it, why do you have to report it? This matter makes me ...... I feel awkward. ”

Li Qing was stunned for a moment, and said: "Your Highness, in this matter, the lower official thinks that the Far Eastern Commander is not wrong. You are the head of the family, and if you want to dispose of a governor in a red coat, if he kills him without asking you, then he is not following the way of his courtiers. The commander of the Far East has your trust again, don't say that he is just a Xinjiang minister, even if he is the president, he has no right to kill the red flag book. Only the chief can decide life and death, this is your power, and it is also your unshirkable responsibility. Ming Jun should make good use of this sharp blade, when His Royal Highness leaves, the expectation for you is also here, may Your Highness be clear!"

Speaking of this, Li Qing's expression changed to stern, with a bit of a hint of admonition, Zi Chuanning was impatient, nodded and said, "These, I know." It's just ......" she muttered softly, Li Qing didn't hear clearly, and asked, "Your Highness, what did you say?"

Zi Chuanning sighed: "It's nothing. She leaned down and waved her hand to sign in the blank space in the bottom corner of the application: "Agreed." Zi Chuanning" After a few words, he handed the text to Li Qing: "Sister Qing, send it to me by the way when you go out." ”

Li Qing took the text and bowed slightly: "Obey, Your Highness." Rest early, you'll have to wake up early tomorrow morning. ”

"Hmm. Sister Qing, you should rest early. ”

When Li Qing's back disappeared by the door, Zi Chuanning sighed slightly. After lying in the bed, she muttered the words that had been hidden in her heart for a long time but she didn't dare to say in front of Li Qing: "If I wasn't the chief ...... How nice that would be!"