In the third year of Xuande, October 23.

Another layer of barrier has been erected outside the majestic snow-hugging pass.

The Yi knights rode around the city walls, ready to shoot the enemies who appeared below the walls with their bows at any time. The foot soldiers hurriedly dismantled the bamboo scaffolding that they had time to remove, and the bamboo pipes piled up in the corners. The fragile skeleton on the surface of the fortifications faded, and the dark gray walls resembled the newborn scales of a dragon.

"General Cui Lie has already arranged the Yi cavalry." Li Jiao whispered in Chu Zhixia's ear, "In addition, there are indeed traces of human activity on Qianfeng Peak. ”

"Don't worry about it." Chu Zhixia lowered his eyes and walked forward without pause.

Li Jiao nodded, half a step behind Chu Zhixia, and walked forward side by side with Wang Yi. It was rare for the ghost city lord to follow behind Chu Zhixia with a scroll of drawings in his arms, and his nondescript outfit attracted Li Jiao to look at him twice.

The four of them walked out of the narrow and dark passage of the castle tower and stopped in the sun-drenched clearing.

A heavy white cloud drifted over, obscuring the sunlight above everyone's heads. The meager warmth was dispelled, and the coolness between the ironclad black stones could not help but surge up.

The eyes of two thousand three hundred and sixty-one soldiers fell on them. They were all young men, the youngest ones were no more than sixteen or seventeen, and the older ones were no more than twenty-three or fourteen.

The ghost city lord was drenched in cold water, and almost fled under the gaze of these young people. Chu Zhixia reached out and grabbed his shoulders and forcefully made him stand in place.

Chu Jin, who had been silent for a long time, turned around, looked at Chu Shixia and said, "Your Highness, this is the two thousand three hundred and sixty-one dead soldiers who volunteered to sign up. None of them are the only children in the family, and they have no parents to support in their old age, and no children under their knees to be fed. Everyone is ready to die. ”

Chu Zhixia shook his head and bowed to everyone.

"Your bravery and fearlessness make Mo Xue admire. The fortifications have been under construction for almost a year, and no one knows what this wall is for. You will be the first to know what it is used for. Chu Zhixia pointed to the gray city wall under the blue sky and said, "This city wall, this land is buried with fire oil and gunpowder, as long as there is a little spark, it will explode." ”

The crowd was in an uproar.

Wang Yi looked at Chu Zhixia in shock, and then went to see the ghost city master. However, Chu Zhixia's face was cold, and there was no gap in his expression, so he couldn't see anything. And the ghost city lord had a mask on his face, and he didn't say a word from beginning to end.

"Your Highness," Li Jiao lowered his voice and said, "Are you going to blow up the snow to the sky?" ”

"Yongxue Pass will not be blown up to the sky."

The ghost city lord's voice was harsh and cold.

"In order to precisely control the direction and power of the gunpowder explosion, I adjusted the concentration of the gunpowder and separated the gunpowder with a waterproof layer." "So there won't be a fire in one place and the entire fortification will explode." Tinder had to be put into the fire from a specific oil pipeline in order to ignite the gunpowder. ”

There were a total of 2,361 inputs in the fortifications, and it was necessary to wait for the right time to put in the fire, to ensure maximum lethality, and to divide the role of the follow-up cavalry formation of the Beidi. After a brief moment of amazement, the dead fell silent.

The owner of the ghost city tells them where the tinder is located and how to use the special tinder. The drawings of the fortifications seemed to be engraved in his mind, and he treasured every detail.

"Where did Your Highness find such a powerful person?" Li Jiao was amazed and asked.

"The elders in the family just accumulate good deeds." Chu Zhixia said with a faint smile.

"The people on the Thousand Peaks don't have to worry about it, because the explosion of the fortifications will cause snow and quicksand, and no matter what Erdan arranges, it's useless, right?" Li Jiao asked instead.

"Yes." Chu Zhixia nodded.

Chu Zhixia was not surprised that Erdan would transport troops to Qianfeng Mountain.

The Great Zhou Dynasty has been founded for hundreds of years, and the snow pass has not fallen, and how many capable people on the grassland have tried to break this barrier but have not. The predecessors have exhausted this path, and if Erdan wants to win, he will either pay a tenfold price or find another way.

"Your Highness is so young, but thoughtful, the defense of gunpowder in the fortifications, Erdan's sword is on the sidelines." Li Jiao sighed slightly and said, "For us, maybe it's a kind of luck, but for Your Highness, is it lucky or unlucky?" ”

Chu Zhixia glanced at him and said, "You didn't talk to my eldest brother before, right?" Speak sourly. ”

Li Jiao was stunned for a moment, smiled awkwardly, and said, "Actually, it's your second brother." ”

Chu Shixia was a little surprised.

"He often uses the book cover of the art of war on the romance of the rivers and lakes, and there are a lot of crepe sentences in it, love and hate, so wonderful." Li Jiao said with a smile, "The second prince loves to watch it, and after reading it, he told us that they are all fools, the Jianghu rangers are so poor that they jingle loudly, and that sword saint often goes to the Zhenbei Wangfu to fight the autumn wind." How can there be so much pride, the embarrassment is real. ”

Chu Zhixia snorted and did not deny it.

"I've been waiting for this day for a long time." Chu Shixia said, "If you are like me, you have repeatedly rehearsed this war every day and every moment for ten years, deduced every result, and constantly reversed and restarted, you will also 'count the last resort'." I count everything, just because I count more than others. ”

I live this life for this day, for this battle.

——

In the third year of Xuande, October 24.

Luo Tong squatted in the corner of the room, playing a crooked tune with the flute, and the two monkeys jumped and jumped to the sound of the flute. Luo Shuangyi sat on the windowsill and watched the lights in the snow gate light up for the first time.

In order to confuse the Beidi people, the fortifications were still garrisoned.

"Luo Tong." Luo Shuangyi suddenly spoke.

Luo Tong stopped playing the flute and looked at Luo Shuangyi flatteringly.

"Come here."

Luo Tong thought that she was going to be punished, although Luo Shuangyi hadn't punished her for a long time. Probably because Luo Shuangyi disliked the flute being too noisy, Luo Tong thought so, obediently walked in front of Luo Shuangyi, stood up straight and prepared to be beaten.

Luo Shuangyi ignored her upright posture and took the silver ghost mask from her arms and threw it into the brazier. Luo Tong was stunned for a moment, and looked at Luo Shuangyi at a loss.

"After this battle, you will no longer be the assassin of the Nine Shadows." Luo Shuangyi was stunned and said, "There will be no Nine Shadows in the future." Tomorrow you leave Yongxue Pass with those people, and you can go wherever you want. ”

"So where do I go? Aren't you leaving? Luo Tong looked at her stunned.

"I'm going to finish this battle with the head of the house."

Luo Shuangyi lowered her eyes and said, "You haven't killed anyone yet, and there is no enemy of yours in the rivers and lakes." In the future, don't say that you are a member of the Nine Shadows, and don't expose your assassination skills. Even if...... In the end, the snow barrier is broken, and you don't want to look back. ”

"Go and live a life of peace and freedom."

After Luo Shuangyi said this, she left Luo Tong in a daze, and turned out the window to leave. The white ghost mask in the brazier was burned black, like a scar spreading inch by inch.

——

In the third year of Xuande, October 25.

Ye Qian, Wang Xu, Li Jiao, Chu Jin, and Cui Lie stood in a row, holding three incense sticks and bowing three times in front of the spiritual seat. The tablets of Chu Mingxiu, Xin Qian, and Chu Ni were lined up, and the offerings on the table were shabby, and only the curling lilac smoke drifted away.

"Now that I think about the day we first entered the Snow Pass, it was like a dream." Wang Yi sighed.

Cui Lie laughed at him: "When you talk like this, it sounds like an old thing half-cut into the ground." ”

"If we can die in peace, it will be the best outcome for us." Chu Jin opened his mouth coldly and asked, "Isn't Your Highness coming to worship?" ”

Chu Zhixia stood on the outermost side, smiling lightly and shaking his head. Chu Zhixia seemed to accept the death of the two brothers quickly, and he looked as usual when he mentioned the old things, but he rarely did anything to pay tribute, like some kind of childish insistence.

"My second brother has always hated ghosts and gods, if he sees me worshipping before the war, begging for the protection of the heroic spirit, maybe he will laugh at me, right?" Chu Shixia shook his head and said, "It's enough for you to remember the deceased." ”

Several people were dumbfounded, and after checking the tactical arrangement again, they left one after another, leaving Chu Zhixia alone in the room. Chu Zhixia sat on the threshold with his back to the spiritual seat, looking at the dark night where the lights could not be illuminated. Shen Zhou sat down beside her silently, smelling a faint smell of sulfur on Chu Zhixia's body.

"You're going to get gunpowder?" Shen Zhou asked.

"I took a look." Chu Zhixia propped his elbows on his knees and said casually, "It's almost November, and it is really rare that there is not a single snow falling in the Snow Pass." Is Luo Tong gone? ”

"Gone." Shen Zhou said, "Luo Shuangyi personally sent her into the team. ”

"Is she crying?"

Shen Zhou scratched his forehead and said in embarrassment: "Although she has not grown into a complete assassin, she is still different from ordinary children, how can she cry at every turn?" ”

Chu Zhixia laughed, scratched Shen Zhou's chin, and said like a kitten: "But you love to cry, and you cry beautifully." ”

Shen Zhou bit her finger in annoyance.

Chu Zhixia smiled and held his face, the tip of his nose against the tip of his nose, as if he was about to kiss. But Chu Zhixia didn't kiss for a long time, just lowered his eyes, his eyelashes were countable, and his warm breath hit Shen Zhou's neck.

"Shen Zhou, do you remember the poems we read when we were kids?"

Chu Zhixia said softly: "'Four hundred and eighty temples in the Southern Dynasty, how many buildings are in the smoke and rain'. The history books are as vast as a sea of smoke, and the heroes and heroes and the hegemony of the dynasty are just a drop in the ocean. Thousands of generations are the golden dreams of rulers, and the gas of a country and a dynasty will eventually come to an end. Erdan is not destined to be, he is just the one who appeared at the right time. But the old dynasty collapsed, the new dynasty rose, and in the few words of later generations, countless people were killed and injured. ”

Shen Zhou was a little uneasy, and wanted to break free of her hand, but was held down by Chu Zhixia.

"So I'm still determined to fight this fight." Chu Zhixia raised his head and smiled at Shen Zhou, that smile pierced Shen Zhou's heart with blood, "I know that I can't do it, I'm such a person." ”

Chu Zhi Xia Mo rubbed the cocoons and scars on the palm of Shen Zhou's palm, and finally touched his broken palm prints, and said: "If I die in battle, don't die for me, and don't avenge me." There is no right or wrong between me and Erdan, only positions. ”

Shen Zhou trembled slightly, and shook his head firmly: "No." ”

Chu Zhixia sighed helplessly and gently.

——

In the third year of Xuande, October 30.

Beidi launched the first attack, and the Arakawa army put up a desperate resistance to the fortifications. The battle lasted for two days and one night, and the Arakawa army withdrew into the Yongxue Pass one after another, leaving only the remnants of the army to wander in the fortifications. The gates of the fortifications were smashed open, and the army of Beidi swarmed in.

The archers stood behind the battlements, their bows drawn and aimed at the Beidi soldiers who were approaching the snow pass. Chu Zhixia stood in the middle, with a swaggering crane flag fluttering overhead.

Mo Rigen, who was blind in one eye, rode a horse and rushed to the front, looked in the direction of the crane flag, and raised his voice: "King Zhenbei, I still have one eye, do you want it?" If you can't take both of my eyes off, I'll take your life!" ”

The archer loosened the string, and the feathered arrows that pierced through the Blue Eagle Banner answered everything.

"Attack!"

The Arakawa Army and the Tense Army took over the defense of the city wall.

Not a drop of rain fell and not a single drop of snow fell, but the weather was still cold. The boiling hot oil poured down from the city wall, scalding the Beidi soldiers who climbed the city wall to the point that their skin and flesh were open, and they fell to the ground like fallen leaves. Some Beidi soldiers covered their heads with coats, gritted their teeth and climbed up, and were trampled to death by the horses' hooves of the Tiance army as soon as they jumped on the city wall.

However, the Beidi army, which had just taken the fortifications, was excited and rushed upwards desperately. The fortifications that had been painstakingly built for a year were like a layer of eggshells, which would break when knocked out, as if to herald the victory of the great war.

The two sides fought around this wall, and the Beidi people did not advance an inch, and the Tiance army and the Arakawa army did not retreat an inch.

Beidi put more and more troops into the front, followed by Beidi's cavalry troops.

——

Chu Zhixia retreated from the city tower and faced the tiger and leopard who were ready to go. The white crane flag and the tiger and leopard riders fluttered in the wind, as if they were moving with the shouts of killing outside the city walls. Ye Qian immediately rode in front of the tiger and leopard and nodded at Chu Zhixia.

The tight strings on Chu Zhixia's body suddenly loosened, and he actually smiled.

"According to the rules, I should say a few words, promise the high-ranking officials, and encourage you to kill the enemy bravely. But at this moment, our comrades are blocking the pace of the Beidi people with their flesh and blood on the city wall, trying to delay for a longer time, so that the Beidi people who follow more will enter the trap. ”

Chu Zhixia was stunned and said, "When I was fifteen years old, I entered the imperial capital as a hostage to appease people's hearts. My eldest brother couldn't bear it and wanted to send me away quietly. I told him that they could sacrifice their lives for their families and for the north of the country, and so could I. What I want is not for the king's power and wealth, but for a safe place in the world for my family to live in. ”

"Later, you also knew that my eldest brother was so angry that he died; My second brother intercepted Erdan, who attacked Qingzhou, and was seriously injured and martyred. I am already alone, and there may be some of you like me, whose house is empty, and there are only graves to be spent; Or maybe there are still wives, children, and parents alive, waiting for you to come home and be reunited. ”

The tiger and leopard rode quietly, only Chu Zhixia's clear voice echoed, answering the call of the wind.

"Today's battle, for the millions of Li people after the Snow Pass, for our future generations to stop bloodshed, for the four states of the north no longer wives cry husbands, parents bury children, and children kneel to guard lonely graves. I, Chu Zhixia, am fortunate to live and die with you! ”

"God bless the Great Zhou, the country is long!"

Chu Zhixia picked up a bowl of spirits and drank it down, and smashed the porcelain bowl to the ground. The tiger and leopard riders drank the liquor in the bowl one after another, as if the blood in their whole body had been ignited, and smashed the bowl to pieces, responding to Chu Zhixia's call.

"God bless the Great Zhou, the country is long!"

Chu Zhixia took a cloud-piercing arrow and shot it into the air, and the wind filled the hollow arrow, letting out a dragon's roar. The defenders on the tower of the city heard the sound of arrows piercing the clouds and immediately lit the fireworks on the tower.

Golden fireworks exploded in the sky.

In the fortifications, someone looked up from the piles of bamboo pipes and glimpsed the golden streamer through the staggered gaps in the bamboos; Some people bowed their heads from the narrow and cramped windows, and the Beidi people who fell and climbed like ants on the city wall were illuminated by the golden flames.

Two thousand three hundred and sixty-one grains of tinder wrapped in oiled paper rolled into the bamboo tube at the same time.

The oiled paper was stretched out in the bamboo tube, and the fire oil was ignited instantly, like countless fiery snakes writhing, struggling, rolling and roaring in the ground; It was like the revival of the long-dormant blood vessels of a giant, and the heartbeat and pulse of the earth shaking the mountains shook the heavens and the earth.