Beidi, Qingying Department.

"Hu'er first, are you guilty?"

Erdan sat at the top of the Golden Horde, playing with a skull goblet in his hand, his gaze dangerously falling on the kneeling man. On either side of the Golden Horde sat the leaders of the various tribes, staring at the defeated and fleeing back from the battle.

"The subordinates have betrayed the trust of the Khan and are willing to die to apologize!" Hu'er first slammed the ground and said loudly.

"It's not a pity for you to die, but it's a pity for the warriors of Dototh. I heard that you attacked the city wall several times, why didn't you take Xiaofeng Fort in the end? Erdan got up, his robe dragged to the ground, and the brocade-embroidered eagle stood proudly. Erdan took two steps around Hu'er, like a lion playing with its prey in the palm of his hand.

Hu'er couldn't help but tremble slightly.

"Why didn't you support Dotos when he stormed the walls?" Erdan asked softly, "You are from a noble background, and you look down on Dotos as a slave, for fear that they will become nobles and exploit your interests after making war exploits?" ”

"The subordinates don't dare!" Hu'er hurriedly denied it first.

Erdan raised his eyes coldly, swept over the khans with their own ghosts, and raised his glass to Er'er first. Hu'er held out his hand tremblingly, but Erdan poured it on the ground before he could touch the glass.

"This cup of wine, to the warriors of the Immortal Heaven." Erdan raised his head and said, "In the next battle, I will personally lead the troops." ”

Everyone looked sideways.

——

Fort Lesser.

Chu Zhixia chewed a dry cake and swallowed a bowl of rice porridge that was as thin as soup. When Shen Zhou entered the door, Chu Zhixia had just swallowed a cake that was as hard as a stone into his stomach. Chu Zhixia broke the other two dough cakes, soaked them in rice porridge to soften them, and pushed them in front of Shen Zhou.

Shen Zhou didn't move, looked at Chu Shixia and asked, "Have you eaten?" ”

"Eat." Chu Shixia pointed to the full porridge bowl and said, "Hurry up and eat, don't waste it." Since the beginning of spring this year, there has not been a drop of rain. There is a big drought in the Guannai, and I am afraid that there will be no harvest this autumn, and I don't know how much grain the imperial court can allocate to come. ”

Shen Zhou snorted and ate like a hungry kitten.

Chu Zhixia listened to the sound of Shen Zhou eating, and his uneasy mood calmed down slightly. The drought is not limited to the northern part of the country, and even the historically rich Jiangnan is unsustainable. There is no drought in the morning, there is no drought in the evening, and a piece of paper and peace agreement is torn to pieces, and the customs are instead demonic. Chu Shixia could feel that the balance of fate began to tilt in Erdan's favor.

Droughts and starvation are common, but if they are more serious and not appeased effectively, they may lead to riots.

A cold finger pressed on the center of Chu Zhixia's eyebrows, smoothing out the frowning brow.

"Is there no food?" Shen Zhou asked.

"Don't talk nonsense." Chu Zhixia said vaguely, "It can last a long time." ”

But no one knows how long this war with the Beidi people will last.

——

Among the seven camps of Yongxue Pass, the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, the Tiance Army, the Benlei Army and the Guanshan Army are all cavalry; The Arakawa army is a foot soldier, the Hawkeye guard is a scout, and the Yi cavalry is an archer. The Benlei army was a light cavalry, heavy on speed and light on defense, the armor was not as thick as that of tigers and leopards, and the horses were fast and had poor endurance.

Wang Yi, the general of the Benlei Army, is a taciturn man, with an honest appearance, short and strong, which is not at all different from the rumored "Ben Lei Army".

Xin Jian and Wang Jian stood together, like a weasel and an old hen in a cage. Chu Zhixia looked at the two people strangely, and his steps hesitated.

"Come in," Xin Jian stood in front of the one-person-tall map and beckoned to Chu Shixia, "I'll be waiting for you." ”

"Wait for me to eat?" Chu Zhixia was poor, not knowing whether he was a weasel or a chicken.

Xin Jian was puzzled and asked, "You haven't eaten?" Who is so fat and brave as to withhold your food? ”

"I'm overwhelmed, and you're just talking nonsense." Chu Zhixia stepped into the door and stood between the two, "Are you going to lead an army to attack the Chihe Ministry?" ”

Xin Jian and Wang Yi looked at her in surprise.

"Do you need to make such a fuss?"

Chu Zhixia was even more shocked than them, and said: "The Chihe Department occupies the southernmost grassland of Beidi, with abundant water and grass, and herds of cattle and sheep, and it is the most reluctant to go to war. Erdan united all the tribes to fight in the name of the Immortal Heaven, but the peace treaty lasted less than a year, and Beidi's calculation failed, and the previous groveling became a joke. Now he wants to set free slaves with military merits, which nobleman can agree. If the Chihe tribe were attacked and suffered heavy losses, it would inevitably attack Erdan and shake their alliance. ”

Chu Zhixia glanced at the two men left and right, "Don't you think so?" ”

Xin Jian and Wang Yi applauded her sincerely.

Xin Jian stretched out a finger and scratched the corner of his forehead, and said embarrassedly: "In fact, this is the order of the prince, and he did not explain the reason to us. ”

Chu Zhixia comforted Xin Qian: "My second brother is indeed a stubborn bastard, he never explains tactics to his subordinates, I don't blame you." ”

Wang Yi looked left and right, pondered the words in embarrassment, and held back half a sentence: "So what should I do about this matter?" ”

Xin Jian continued to look at Chu Zhixia.

Chu Zhixia said modestly: "What are the senior opinions? ”

"The Khan of the Red River Department may be in the Green Eagle Ministry, but his wife and children must still be in the Red River Ministry. As long as you catch someone, you don't have to worry about him not backwatering. Xin Jian said.

Chu Zhixia shook his head and said, "And then? In order to redeem his wife and children, the Chihe Ministry surrendered to us? Nardan will kill him directly, take the population and land of the Red River Department for himself, expand the power of the Blue Eagle Tribe, kill chickens and monkeys, and scare off other people who want to surrender. ”

"Then what do you mean, we should kill them all, what should they do if they jump over the wall in a hurry?" Xin Jian frowned.

"Not only must we kill them all, but we must also clean up his ancestral grave and not leave him a chance to fight back. Let the other tribes of Beidi see, this is the end of the provocation to Yongxue Pass, and this is the way to death given to them by their wise and martial Erdan Khan. Chu Zhixia's knuckles tapped on the map, and there was a muffled sound, like a sword sheath.

"You have dealt with the Beidi people for so many years, you should know that kindness and kindness are useless to them. The only thing they feared was force, and Erdan saw this very clearly, and whoever did not accept it, he would kill him. ”

Wang said briefly and forcefully: "It makes sense. ”

"What's more, Fort Dafeng has fallen and the whole army has been annihilated, Fort Xiaofeng has managed to keep it with great difficulty, and we need a victory that is enough to lift the morale of the army." Chu Shixia spread out his hands and said, "Unfortunately, the Chihe Department is the lamb on our celebration wine. ”

Xin Jian looked at Chu Zhixia with interest and asked, "You were only fifteen years old when you left Yunzhong, did you learn these in the imperial capital?" ”

"There are immortals in dreams." Chu Zhixia said with a hippie smile.

Xin Jian patted her on the shoulder and said, "With such an immortal fate, you should go to Huguo Temple." ”

——

Chu Zhixia left.

Only Xin Jian and Wang Yi were left in the tent. Wang Yu counted the list of soldiers and soldiers in a silent manner, and all the people under his command checked the number of dead and wounded before sending them in. He's a worrisome toiler, and he's going to have to see it again.

Xin Jian stood by the window, looking at the moon on the city wall.

"What do you think of the eldest lady?" Xin Jian asked for no reason.

"More stable than the second son, braver than the eldest son." Wang Yi paused for a moment and said, "Maybe she will be the next general of Yongxueguan." ”

"The second son asked me to take care of her, but I think she is very familiar with the battlefield and doesn't need my care at all." Xin Jian said lazily, "Sometimes her eyes and conversation are like a soldier who has been in the army for many years." ”

"Your delusion, right?" Wang Xuan said without raising his head.

"I saw her immobilize a wounded soldier's broken calf that day, and her movements were neat." Xin Jian said, "The young lady of the noble family, even if it is a family like the Chu family in Yunzhong, there are medical officers around to take care of her. Only others take care of her, how can she have the opportunity to serve others. Where do you say she learned? ”

Wang Yi thought for a long time and said, "Maybe the eldest lady has suffered a lot in the imperial capital. ”

Xin Jian was silent for a long time, gave him a thumbs up, and said, "You are really an old mother's life." ”

"That day, Yu Zhu's body was sent back to the clouds, and I saw the eldest lady go to send it, and not a single tear fell. When the eldest son left, the eldest lady was still crying like a child. Wang Yi sighed and said, "Growing up is a matter of a moment, whether you are naïve or innocent, whether you have a good heart, can she not be surnamed Chu?" ”

"I find that a dumb person like you sometimes chokes when he speaks." Xin Jian admitted defeat, folded his hands and bowed to him, and turned to leave, "I'll shut up, you can do it yourself." ”

——

In the first year of Xuande, the third day of the seventh month.

The Golden Horde of the Red River Ministry.

"Who are you?"

Awakened from her sleep, she suddenly found a dark figure standing in front of the bed, quiet in all directions, only her exclamations echoed. Moonlight poured in through the window, and Yan Shi looked nervously at the young man. He was dressed in the black clothes of the Central Plains, clean and neat, without a trace of superfluous decoration, like a shadow.

"The Chihe tribe of the Great Clan, Ulan?" Shen Zhou asked without emotion.

"Someone, there's an assassin!" Yan cried out in horror.

"They're all dead."

Shen Zhou drew his sword and slowly approached her, "I didn't want to kill you. But someone told me a story, twenty years ago, the Beidi people slaughtered a village, men, women and children, and not a single one was left. Only one girl remained, and she had already reached the clouds to live a new life. But just two months ago, that girl also died at the hands of the Beidi. ”

Shen Zhou's heart ached uncontrollably.

He remembered that in the morgue, Chu Zhixia pulled out the sword from Yuzhu one by one, and the suicide note that regarded death as home. Yuzhu herself probably didn't expect that it would only take such a short period of time for that letter to become a suicide note.

"You're so hard to understand." Shen Zhou whispered, "But I finally learned a truth. ”

Ignoring what he was saying, he grabbed a gem-encrusted dagger from his pillow and threw himself at the sinking boat.

"In the clouds and Beidi, never die."

Yan's roar broke in his throat, and the blood gushed out soaked the splendid stacked beds. The sunken boat lit a lamp that illuminated the corpses all over the ground and the blood-stained carpet. He casually threw the lamp on the ground, and the fire spread out of control.

——

The moonlight sprinkled on the snowy river, like countless floating silver-white fish scales.

A slender scream tore through the silence, and the whole stockade lit up one after another, only to see the cavalry that had suddenly entered. The naked man pounced and drew his knife, but before he could touch the hilt, he was shot through the heart and lungs. The cavalry shuttled back and forth in the stockade, men, women, and children weeping together, some being pierced through their throats and chests, and some being trampled into flesh.

The soldiers rushed into the stables, only to find that the horses had their throats cut, and the blood had spread to the sink outside the stables, like a scarlet rain.

Cheng Yuan slashed the woman's back with a knife, she fell to the ground softly, and the child in her arms fell out heavily. Cheng Yuan couldn't stop palpitating, he had killed people in battle, but killing a heavily armed enemy and killing an unarmed woman was not the same for him.

Cheng Yuan looked at the child who got up from the ground a little stunned.

It was a boy, neatly dressed and with thick hair that hadn't had time to be braided. He didn't run, but like an alert little beast, observing Cheng Yuan's every move. Cheng Yuan was a little unbearable, and blurted out "You go", and suddenly remembered that he probably couldn't understand the Central Plains dialect. The child slowly walked over to the dead woman, shaking her body and calling out to her.

Cheng Yuan's heart was sour, and he secretly thought to himself, what's wrong with the child? He couldn't help but do something stupid and get closer to the kid.

Cheng Yuan's eyes suddenly flashed with silver light.

The neighing of the horse blew like the wind, and the child flew more than a dozen feet away, his chest dented by the spear. Cheng Yuan was in a cold sweat, and he saw clearly the short knife in the child's hand. At that moment, the child's eyes were vicious, as if they were about to bite his throat.

Chu Zhixia grabbed Cheng Yuan's collar from the horse and slapped him hard. Her face was hidden behind her visor, and her eyes were sharp and bright, like a sword suddenly appearing in a box.

"Are you awake?" Chu Zhixia scolded angrily: "Don't want to kill? Can't get started? Then wait for him to kill your brother, your children and grandchildren in ten years! ”

Cheng Yuan's face was hot, and he simply admitted his mistake neatly.

Chu Zhixia ignored Cheng Yuan, and suddenly drew an arrow and shot at him. Cheng Yuan fell to the ground with a sharp heart, and the feather arrow grazed the top of his hair and shot into the eye of a horse, and the painful war horse raised its front hooves and threw the person on the horse's back down heavily.

The man on the horse was as strong as a bear, but he rolled nimbly to the ground. Two dark arrows hit Chu Zhixia's crotch, and Chu Zhixia took the lead in loosening the reins and jumping down, landing firmly in front of the man. Through the light of the fire lit by the golden tent in the distance, Chu Zhixia saw the man's face clearly.

Bald, eagle-eyed, and eight feet tall, he has a heavy knife and amazing arm strength, which can cut people at the waist with one sword.

In the Eagle Eye intelligence, the famous general of the Red River Department, Danmu.

"I know you, the eldest lady of the Chu clan in the clouds, and the younger sister of Chu Mingxiu." Danmu looked at her, his eyes were like hooks, trying to tear Chu Shixia into pieces.

"Did your brother die and become a dog without minions?" Danki asked maliciously.

Chu Zhixia shot up, and the spear swung into a wheel, slashing at Danmu's head. Danmu swung his knife to stand it, and the wooden shaft of the spear was overwhelmed and broke suddenly. Chu Zhixia then turned around and drew his sword, and the sword slid into the flesh on the side of his neck with the blade of Danmu.

Danmu picked up his elbow and hit Chu Zhixia's temple, twisting her neck and slamming it on the ground in her direction. Drinking the stream snow had nowhere to exert his strength, and he had already lost the opportunity, Danmu grabbed Chu Zhixia's head and smashed it to the ground.

Chu Zhixia grabbed his hand, turned over and jumped into the air, his waist bent into an incredible arc, and his knees stuck his head tightly. Danmu's arm made a dislocated "boom", and Chu Zhixia twisted his waist and twisted his neck.

Danmu fell to the ground heavily, and the dizziness of Chu Zhixia's temple being hit only came after realizing it.

Chu Zhixia shook his head, stabbed it into his mouth with the drinking stream snow, and plucked out his tongue.

"Reincarnate as a mute in the next life." Chu Zhixia said coldly.