He Sijia stood alone on a small hill behind the camp of the Xuanjia Legion, looking at the Holy Tang Imperial Capital not far in front of him.

This huge and majestic capital like a giant beast lies quietly on the Jinhe Plain, a meandering river, and the same quiet arch guards beside it.

The afterglow of the setting sun sowed from behind He Sijia and projected on the city wall that was more than ten zhang high, dyeing the blue-gray wall that stretched for countless miles into a soft orange red.

All kinds of buildings, which are much higher than the huge city wall, are lined up in the imperial capital, and they are also covered with a layer of faint warm colors, silently showing the prosperity of the world.

Hundreds of thousands of houses are like a game of Go, and the 12th street is like a vegetable garden.

Here, it is the heart of the dynasty and the glory of the Holy Tang.

For 800 years, this capital, which can be called the most magnificent capital in the East and West continents, has been the dream of many emperors and heroes; And the stories that happened to it have become legends familiar to the children of foreign city-states.

Looking at it, He Sijia was slightly fascinated.

-

Taking advantage of Xie Guang's entry into the city, Xu Youchang took a leave of absence from his boss, sneaked out of his camp, and ran to the hill at the rear of the whole army to find the Turkic princess He Sijia.

Because he had specially advised him to take care of it before, the Xuanjia soldiers who were in charge of guarding the prisoners of war did not embarrass Her Royal Highness the princess much.

As long as she doesn't run away, her freedom of movement is basically not restricted.

Xu Youchang came to He Sijia's side, also looked at the imperial capital, and asked softly, "Your Highness, you should be here for the first time, right?" ”

He Sijia's gaze was still in the distance, and his mouth responded: "No, this is the second time I've seen the imperial capital, it's a ...... Let's revisit the old place. ”

Xu Youchang was slightly surprised: "The second time? Has His Highness been here before? ”

He Sijia did not answer this question, but smiled apologetically.

Xu Youchang knew that there must be some reason for this, and perhaps some secrets of the imperial family of the Turkic Empire were involved, so it was inconvenient for He Sijia to explain.

He was upright and kind-hearted, so in order not to embarrass the other party, he changed the subject: "Hey, where is Anya?" Why didn't you see her? ”

The Anya that Xu Youchang said was the beautiful little maid who accompanied the princess before.

He Sijia smiled faintly: "General Xu seems to care about Anya very much, and he has taken care of her along the way, could it be ...... Got a crush on her? ”

Xu Youchang was slightly stunned at first, and then defended: "Her Royal Highness the princess said that I was just ...... I was just afraid that the girl would be frightened, so I ......"

After that, Xu Youchang didn't say any more, because He Sijia was staring at him with a smile, obviously not believing in this deliberate reason for cover-up.

Seeing that Xu Youchang was a little embarrassed, He Sijia secretly laughed in his heart, and also changed the topic: "General Xu, guess what, what am I thinking at the moment?" ”

Hearing this, Xu Youchang couldn't help but feel sentimental: This empathetic Turkic princess, shouldn't she want to match me and Anya?

His old face turned red, and he hurriedly responded: "The princess's intentions, how can this rough man guess?" ”

He Sijia guessed that Xu Youchang was probably misunderstood, and smiled mischievously: "I'm thinking, if a big war breaks out later, should I take the opportunity to escape?" ”

Xu Youchang didn't expect that the other party not only didn't mention Anya for half a word, but didn't know what to say about the outbreak of a big war, and couldn't help but be a little confused: "What His Highness said, I don't understand." ”

He Sijia calmly pointed ahead: "General, since your Xuanjia Legion left the Western Frontier, you have been running wildly all the way, and the bones of the run are about to fall apart. finally came to the imperial capital, neither did he feel anxious about camping, nor did he take off his armor to rest, so he directly placed a large array of fish scales, so why? ”

"Fish scales? What fish scale array? Princess, you read it wrong. ”

"Am I really wrong? The commander is set in the middle of the formation, surrounded by the main force of soldiers and horses, with thousands of people as a unit, forming a large number of small phalanxes in the shape of fish scales, layer by layer, echelon deployment. The front end of the formation protrudes outwards and is sharp, which is the vanguard of the entire army. If I'm not mistaken, this should be the most classic offensive formation in the Holy Tang military system-the Fish Scale Formation, isn't it? ”

Xu Youchang covered up his embarrassment with a cough: "Ahem...... Her Royal Highness the princess is certainly knowledgeable, and she admires and admires her. ”

He Sijia smiled: "General, since you are not mistaken, then please tell me, why do I have an illusion: what your Xuanjia Legion is facing now does not seem to be the Holy Tang Imperial Capital, but our Turkic Flame Maple Forest City?" ”

Hearing the other party's ridicule, Xu Youchang was speechless for a while.

What can he say?

The Xuanjia Army, which rushed to the aid of Western Xinjiang, did not even bother to clean up the battlefield, and returned to the dynasty with a prosperous class.

The whole army also hid and hidden, deliberately avoiding all the city stations along the way, as if engaging in a sneak attack, and quietly came to the capital of the dynasty.

If you look at the reaction of the unicorn army on the other side, it is like a rabbit that has blown up its hair, jumping up and down, as if facing a great enemy. In the blink of an eye, the battle horns of the arrow towers on the city walls sounded in unison, and the heavy ballistas were all twisted bowstrings.

On the west gate of the imperial capital, in addition to the six thousand unicorn soldiers outside the city, there was a faint sound of footsteps in the southwest and northwest corners of the city. It is not difficult to guess from the heels that a large number of troops are outflanking Ximen at this time.

He Sijia said that the war was imminent, and he was not exaggerating at all.

In other words, the reason why the two sides have not fought now is really because the Qilin Legion has maintained the greatest restraint.

When Xie Guang was about to leave just now, he briefly explained to his subordinates, saying that Taifu Nian Jinsong might have been assassinated by traitors, and His Majesty was in danger, so he wanted to enter the city to face the saint, investigate the truth, and ensure that the court would not fall into chaos.

If there is an abnormal movement in the Qilin army during his absence, the generals can follow the instructions of Sima Xian and launch a counterattack.

Xu Youchang felt that this order of Commander Xie was really very nonsense.

Abnormal movement? What kind of situation is considered an anomaly?

The Qilin Legion attacking the Xuanjia Legion?

This is the defense area of the Qilin Army, if the other party comes to drive us, will we fight or not?

Besides, even if there is a real war, there must be a strong reason. In this move, who represents the emperor and who is the traitor, doesn't it need to be explained clearly in advance?

It is really unbelievable that such a messy order came from the mouth of the famous general Xie Guang.

Xu Youchang pondered his rhetoric for a moment and tried to be as reasonable as possible: "Your Highness misunderstood. We had received an urgent report that an important minister of the DPRK had passed away suddenly, and in order to prevent an accident, our army was ordered to return as soon as possible, and some precautions were taken. However, please rest assured, Your Highness, no matter what happens next, I will do my best to protect your safety. ”

He Sijia nodded thoughtfully: "Oh, I see. If it weren't for your explanation, I really thought that the famous Xuanjia Legion would run to threaten their emperor. ”

Listening to the half-truth joke of the Turkic princess, Xu Youchang felt that his heart was full of taste, but he didn't know that there was another person at this time, who was even more unpleasant than him.

That person is the thirtieth emperor of the Holy Tang Dynasty - Li Chengwu.

The news of the sudden arrival of the Xuanjia Legion had already been sent to the palace at this time.

Li Chengwu, the Emperor of the Holy Tang Dynasty, sat behind the dragon case, looking at Wang Huan, the commander of the tiger and leopard cavalry, and Liu Ce, the young master of the crown prince, who were standing below, without saying a word.

The old chamberlain standing beside him found that His Majesty's sleeves had been trembling slightly since just now.

Wang Heng couldn't help but speak: "Your Majesty, Xie Guang is plotting rebellion!" Please issue a decree for Wechen to arrest him and ask him for his guilt! ”

Liu Ce coughed lightly: "Lord Wang, don't be impatient, the lower officials think that this matter needs to be thought twice." At present, the Qilin Legion has 40,000 horses and horses in the imperial capital, and the government soldiers of Jingzhao Mansion are about 15,000, plus your tiger and leopard cavalry, the number of troops that can be used is at least 70,000. And the other 30,000 Qilin troops stationed in Pingyang City, once they receive the beacon fire, they can arrive in two days. Therefore, as far as the current defense strength of the imperial capital is concerned, there should be no problem in ensuring the safety of His Majesty and the capital. ”

Wang Heng interrupted the other party's words: "It is precisely because we don't have to worry about Your Majesty's danger, we don't have any scruples, so we should take action immediately and take down Xie Guang!" ”

"And what about the charges?" Liu Ce was not in a hurry.

Wang Heng said angrily: "Lord Liu asked knowingly! The 100,000 horses of the Xuanjia Legion approached the imperial capital without following the order, and should be punished for conspiracy! ”

Liu Ce shook his head when he heard this: "Alas, Lord Wang, how can you conclude that Xie Guang has not obeyed the order?" ”

Wang Heng was stunned by Liu Ce's question, and subconsciously looked at the emperor.

Li Chengwu was silent for a long time, and finally opened Chrysostom: "Xie Guang followed my will and led the army to aid the western frontier. Imperial decrees, military talismans, and festivals are complete. At the beginning, the Xuanjia Army assembled from Bianzhou to the imperial capital, and I personally sent them a line, if they wanted to come back, it would naturally be back to the imperial capital. ”

Wang Heng: "Since Xie Guang went to the aid of Western Xinjiang, there was no victory over there, and His Majesty did not call him back to the division, is this different or a rebellion?" ”

Li Chengwu smiled bitterly: "The previous battle report has been clearly written, in the battle of Chechi Wangcheng, the main Turkic force was completely defeated by Xie Guang, and all that was left was to pursue the remnants of the enemy." In a way, the Xuanjia Legion has indeed completed its mission. And more importantly......"

He didn't continue to say what he said later, Wang Heng was naturally confused, and only listened to Liu Ce say beside him: "Lord Wang, what Your Majesty is worried about is the purpose of Xie Guang's move. ”

Objective? What purpose?

Wang Heng didn't know why, but he didn't dare to ask.

Liu Ce saw that the emperor was silent, so he continued: "Xie Guang's actions today are actually more like a temptation. If you run to him to ask him about the crime, he can argue that the western Xinjiang has just been pacified, because he suddenly heard that the Taifu died of illness, and the imperial capital was in chaos, endangering the safety of the emperor, so he hurried back to the division without waiting for the request. Xie Guang is a Shangzhu country, and when the order, festival, and charm are complete, he is fully qualified to make a decision on the spot. ”

Liu Ce paused and continued: "If you really want to investigate it, Xie Guang will at most admit his mistake and ask for the guilt, saying that he can't distinguish between truth and falsehood, which has disturbed the holy driver. But he has just made a great contribution in Western Xinjiang, and his reckless move stems from his eagerness to save the driver, what can you do with him? ”

Li Chengwu bowed slightly, motioned for Liu Ce to continue, and Liu Ce said: "If we forcibly detain him for the crime of rebellion, what will the soldiers of the Holy Tang Dynasty think?" The 100,000 black-clothed cavalry outside the city, can they watch you arrest people? There are still 50,000 Xuanjia infantry in Bianzhou, as well as Xie Guang's protégés and old departments, and the governors and generals of various states, will they be willing? Once the military makes a fuss, what should the DPRK do? ”

After listening to Liu Ce's analysis, Wang Heng couldn't help but agree: "Well, there is indeed some truth in your words. But I don't understand, what is Xie Guang trying to probe? ”

Li Chengwu sighed in his heart: What else can you try? Of course, it's my thoughts.

"Xie Guang is testing the Emperor's Sacred Heart." Liu Ce seemed to hear Li Chengwu's heart: "He probably wants to see how His Majesty's attitude towards him has changed after the death of Nian Taifu." ”

Hearing this, Li Chengwu suddenly waved his hand and said a little tiredly: "Don't say it!" Actually, it's not much of a deal right now. No matter how muddy Xie Guang is, it won't be anything. I guess it's because of the big victory in the western Xinjiang, so I'm too happy. Someone ...... coming."

The chamberlain agreed softly: "The old slave is here." ”

Li Chengwu: "You go and give an edict to Zhongshu Province and order them to immediately draw up an edict: to make meritorious contributions to the soldiers of the Xuanjia Legion." In addition, inform the Qilin Army, just say that I asked Xie Guang to come back, so don't be nervous. The Xuanjia Army was temporarily stationed outside the city, allowing Xie Guang to enter the palace to meet me. ”

"The old slave obeys."

Li Chengwu turned to Wang and Liu again: "Come on, you two should also retreat." My body is getting weaker and weaker, and after sitting for a while, my back hurts, too. ”

Wang Heng and Liu Ce saw that the emperor had issued an eviction order, so they hurriedly saluted and retired, and left the hall one after the other.

Looking at the backs of the two leaving, Li Chengwu's calm face suddenly became a little sad.

He looked out the window at the red sky and muttered, "Brother Huang, Brother Huang, you walked freely, but you left the burden to me." What is there to be for the Holy Tang Emperor? Worry about being tired and not taking a vacation, and you have to prevent being killed sooner or later. Do you know? I haven't slept in 20 years. You pit people, Nian Jinsong also pits people, and they are all in such a hurry! If he throws these two hands, who will work in the future? ”