A gust of wind blew in his face, and the small tent was pulled open in one go.

The middle-aged man's cervical vertebrae snapped with a click. His head was flung off his body, and then, like a ripe watermelon, it fell to the ground and exploded, leaving a body full of fear to swoop forward, blood splattering everywhere.

The desperate eyes of the strong man in the state of perspective spurted blood. Then his entire body withered like a sand sculpture blown down by the wind and turned into a terrible puddle of flesh.

...

...

The alarm bell rang in a hurry. The border guards of the Tang Dynasty reacted quickly and strengthened the defense of the camp. The cavalry on the left flank began to prepare their swords and horses, and marched towards the territory of Yan State with a poker face. But in the center of the camp, everything is in order. Heavily armed generals and bodyguards patrol the ruins, looking for enemies.

Suddenly, whether it was the bodyguards searching for the enemy, the soldiers clearing the rubble, or those comforting the frightened grooms, almost at the same time, everyone stopped. They stood straight in place, put their right hands on their chests, and saluted in awe. "General Xiahou!"

There are calm steps. The middle-aged man walked over indifferently. He wears a shiny suit of armor. Some indescribable talisman inscriptions with certain meanings on the armor can be faintly seen. These black talisman inscriptions did not dilute the coldness, but instead gained a little more power.

He was one of the four major generals of the Tang Army.

He is... Xiahou, the general who controlled the whole army.

As a cultivator, General Xiahou ranks first in the world in martial arts. His body was as strong as steel. In addition to his indifferent expression, he was ruthless and fearless in managing the troops. For the past twenty-four years, he has been unparalleled in North China. Seize territory for the emperor, defeat enemies, have a high status in the imperial court, and be respected by his subordinates. However, in the hearts of the Yan people who suffered greatly because of him, he was a demon in the world.

The military intelligence tent, torn to shreds, is in ruins. The subordinate officers cleaned up as quickly as they could, surrounded by warning tape, respectfully waiting for the general's inspection.

Looking at the decapitated corpse of the soul master, Xia Hou was silent for a moment and then said. "Twenty-four years ago, you were the commander of a pioneer battalion and were defeated by me. You are scared and run away because of shame. I heard that you have been hiding in Xiyan all these years, but I didn't expect you to have the courage to kill me after many years. "

After saying this, he looked down at the pool of flesh and blood with an expressionless face. He sniffed and said, "You actually dare to kill me, a little swordsman in a clairvoyant state." You're looking for death.

At this time, a middle-aged man walked up calmly. The man, dressed in civilian clothes, saluted the general, and then respectfully presented several broken objects. He said: "The barracks found that there was nothing wrong with the defense. The two assassins were able to carry out their crazy plan and infiltrate the barracks without any problems, as they brought with them a seal document issued by the Ministry of War.

Hearing this, Xia Hou stared at the man's eyes silently and did not speak for a long time.

The other subordinates would tremble under his calm gaze and kneel down and beg for mercy, not knowing why. But this person is different. This person's name is Gu Xi. No one knew where he came from, but they knew that he was good at scheming and handling personal affairs for Xiahou. He is the most trusted person in Xiahou. Gu Xi met his gaze fearlessly and said calmly: "Although the document is from the Chang'an Military Department, it doesn't mean anything.

Gu Xi knew that the last thing the general wanted to hear was that this assassination was related to Chang'an City. What's more, there is no evidence for this. So he answered in the affirmative.

The general took his eyes off Gu Xi and did not mention any topics related to the military of Chang'an. He put his hands behind his back and watched the twilight in silence. Then he narrowed his eyes and said emotionlessly, "They have found a spiritual master who has held a grudge against me all his life, and a young swordsman who is arrogant, arrogant, and self-righteous, enough to assassinate me." It seems that some of the Yan people don't want the crown prince back.

This time, Yan Guo sent a genius great sword master and a netherworld psychic master to assassinate him. It seems that they paid a heavy price and spent all their energy and expectations on it. And the situation is really very dangerous. However, compared to the general's unparalleled martial prowess, this assassination was more like a desperate journey to death.

Hearing the seemingly illogical analysis, Gu Xi praised: "General, you are really smart. This year is a good year for the crown prince to return to Yan Kingdom. Whether the assassins succeeded or failed, His Majesty would be furious. If a written statement is submitted, I am afraid that the crown prince will have to continue to stay in Chang'an City. "

Xia Hou said without emotion: "I will never let their wishes come true. All officials were ordered not to mention the assassination. Later, I will write a secret letter myself explaining the whole thing to His Majesty. The Yan family wanted to keep Prince Longqing in Chang'an in order to restore their state power. They're daydreaming! "

"Maybe Prince Longqing himself doesn't want to stay in Yan Kingdom." Thinking of the message sent by the military department a few days ago, Gu Xi smiled and said, "He can go to the second floor of the academy to study with the dean of the academy." It's better than being a backup prince. "

The dawn is getting brighter and brighter. General Xiahou walked towards the Eastern Front with a blank face. He was followed by Gu Xi and a team of personal guards, all of whom were silent. The rising sun's rays shone on his armor, emitting a faint white sheen, making him look like a powerful idol standing in a divine aura.

Xiahou entered the tent of the temporary Chinese army, and after listening to his subordinates' report that the left wing cavalry attacked Yandi this morning, he was silent for a long time, and then raised his head and said: "Kill three hundred Yan prisoners as punishment."

At this moment, there was no third person in the tent except for himself and Gu Xi. Gu Xi looked at him, bit his lip, and then tried to persuade him not to. "General, you have decided to keep the assassination secret before, and only sent a secret letter to Your Majesty. If a prisoner of war had been killed before the battle, it would have been difficult to conceal it. What's more, those Yan families will definitely take the initiative to make a fuss about this matter.

Xiahou said indifferently: "The Yan army entered the territory of the Tang Dynasty. They violated the elderly and the weak, burned their villages. We should kill three hundred Yan prisoners of war to avenge it. I am sure that no one would dare to object.

After a moment of silence, Gu Xi said, "But killing prisoners of war is a bad omen, Your Majesty...... Won't like it.

Xia Hou pulled off his helmet and quietly looked at his loyal subordinates who had accompanied him for more than twenty years, and said, "You should know that Your Majesty doesn't like me very much. I'm alive until now because I've accomplished incredible feats for the Empire. The Tang Dynasty has always strictly enforced the rules of rewards and punishments. As long as I continue to give advice, and the officials in the court do not have any evidence against me, His Majesty will not bother me. So it doesn't matter if Your Majesty likes me or not. If Your Majesty likes me too much, I really don't know what to do.

Only two people can understand the hidden meaning of this conversation, especially the last sentence. After a moment of silence, Gu Xi was about to say something, but the horizontal embroidery on the cuffs suddenly lit up.

"Go ahead." Xiahou said.

Gu Xi crossed his hands in front and bowed silently and left the tent.

In the empty tent, Xia Hou smiled bitterly and laughed at himself. He said in a low voice: "I am so lucky to meet such a kind emperor as Your Majesty, otherwise I really don't know how many times I will die." A Zen scholar can bully in a reasonable way, but is it possible for me to be merciful to bully Your Majesty? The emperor just cares about the old feelings that others don't know, so he allowed me to live all these years.

After a while, Gu Xi lifted the curtain and walked back. He held a secret letter painted with fire paint in his hand and walked towards Xiahou. He said softly: "The military department has sent a letter saying that Chang'an is a little unsafe these days. There seems to have been a murder in Nancheng, which even alarmed the Yulin Royal Guard.

Xiahou sneered lightly: "The court officials took advantage of His Majesty's kindness and wanted to kill my subordinates. They suffered because of the Chao Xiaoshu a few days ago. Didn't they learn to present themselves in front of His Majesty?

"It's really not about the court officials." Gu Xi shook his head and replied. "There was a Perspective Lord who was killed in that murder in the South City, and that person was a former military officer. That's how the fuss came about.

Xia Hou's eyes stiffened, and he squinted at him. He said, "Go ahead."

"Do you remember this man named Yan Suqing, a former military appraiser? Few people know that he is a great Juggernaut......"

After a pause, Gu Xi looked at the general meaningfully and continued. "This person should have been enlightened in the Xishan Haotian Temple and learned swordsmanship. He was expelled from the military department for something and followed a tea merchant in Chang'an all day long. No one expected him to die suddenly in the end.