Chapter 39 Chapter Nine Loyalty remains the same

"Believe you?" In the silence, Kummer chuckled lightly, as if he didn't even bother to refute. He took a brocade-wrapped thing from the saddle, opened it and took it out. The gold-carved seal of Kui Dragon King shines faintly under the firelight.This is the king's seal that was sent to Jianzhou along with the imperial edict to confer the king of gold back then. Back then, Kummer personally took over the king's seal from the envoys and promised a peaceful border market for several years, and only then did the two countries join forces today. against the enemy. Raising his hand and throwing it, the big seal of pure gold fell into the dust on the ground, rolled over twice, and remained there.

"Your Majesty Deyou," the corners of his lips were raised lightly, revealing a stern smile, and those dove-grey eyes were frosty, "From today onwards, the soldiers of our two countries will meet each other with blood on the battlefield!" There is still a dead silence all around. I didn't know until today that silence is the most oppressive of all gestures.It was invisible anger and power, silent but ubiquitous. In the silence, Xiao Huan lowered his head, covered his lips, coughed twice, and stopped talking. His eyes swept over Xiao Huan with coldness, and when he turned his head to see me, there was a slight flicker in Kummer's eyes, but only for a moment, he withdrew his gaze, turned around, and never looked back.

As Kummer's figure disappeared behind the sword, halberd and torch, sparse sounds came from the Jurchens who were resting on the ground.The Jurchen cavalry, who have always been known for their mobility and swiftness, walked in an instant. After a short time, there were only abandoned scattered items and the burning bonfire left on the ground. Shi Yan and Ban Fangyuan from the Gu camp had already arrived with their people, and regardless of the situation at this time, they galloped over, dismounted in front of Xiao Huan, and clasped their fists and asked, "Is Long Live Alright? "

After Kummer left just now, he looked at the vast night in the distance, Xiao Huan did not bow his head, but said lightly: "Fang Yuan, what news is there?" Ban Fangyuan immediately lifted his robe and knelt down: "Long Live Lord, the news just came from Shanhaiguan. At midnight last night, there was a suspected Jurchens raid and attempted to attack the city. After the defeat, they fled towards Jianzhou. The Shanhaiguan guards did not take advantage of the victory to pursue them. He wrote a memorial and passed it on to the capital. But this morning, when the Jurchens attacked again, the Shanhaiguan guards defeated them and chased them for 30 miles before returning to the city."

Speaking of this, Ban Fangyuan paused for a moment before continuing: "But there was news from Jianzhou that there was a large army of Wu forces that came under attack from Zishi to Maoshi last night. Although they did not attack the city, they cleared and killed ordinary herdsmen outside the city... ...a total of... seven settlements of herdsmen were slaughtered... more than 5,000 herdsmen were killed. Among them, there were three settlements, men, women, children...no one was spared." One side deliberately provoked the guards of Shanhaiguan, causing the army to leave the city, while the other side pretended to be a soldier of the Great Army and killed wantonly.

Dawu couldn't justly say that he had never sent troops out of the city, nor could he prove that the provocative party was the Jurchens; the Jurchens simply didn't understand why the original allies suddenly drew their swords against each other overnight, and were caught off guard.Five thousand civilians, including women, children and the elderly, were brutally murdered in their homes. No wonder Kummer left the golden seal without saying a word, the allies betrayed, the tribe was killed, and the hatred was so deep that it was hard to explain. I haven't recovered from the shock of hearing the news for a long time, Xiao Huan has already said lightly: "The news is delayed, and the work is not effective. You should know how to be punished."

Kneeling and bowing his head, Ban Fangyuan did not hesitate at all: "Yes, please ask the Lord Long Live to judge." "I'm free from broken arms, go and get thirty military sticks." Xiao Huan said calmly, his face was expressionless, "You don't need to be in the second battalion anymore, go to Changling to guard the tomb." I was taken aback, this time such a big incident happened, but the news of the Gu camp as the eyes and ears of the emperor came so slowly, it was indeed negligent of duty, but Xiao Huan's punishment was actually dismissed from his post to guard the mausoleum.

It seemed that even Hong Qing, who was at the side, felt that the punishment was a bit heavy, and said, "Long live..." Xiao Huan bent over, and his body, which had been upright on the horse, suddenly bent down. He covered his mouth and began to cough. He didn't cough much at all, but he bent down deeply, trembling slightly. "Brother Xiao!" I jumped off my horse and rushed over as if I was startled awake. He could no longer ride a horse, and his body slipped down the saddle. I stood in front of the horse, but Hong Qing was the quickest to see the opportunity, and quickly jumped up to help him get off the horse.

Leaning lightly on the saddle, he held Hong Qing's shoulders, coughed lightly and said, "Get the carriage...go to Shanhaiguan..." Coughing constantly, he still covered his mouth with his hand, and bent slightly. I hurried forward to pull his hand away, and the palm was really dark red. Holding his arm, I was so anxious that my voice choked up: "Why are you going like this?" "Cang Cang," smiled lightly at me, he was still coughing, "Don't worry..." Seeing that he was suddenly speechless, I stretched out my arms to hug him, supported his body, and buried my head on his shoulder.

The coughing didn't stop, but Xiao Huan still got on the prepared carriage. It was already dark at night, and a biting cold wind was blowing outside Datong City.After helping him into the carriage together, he leaned on the soft couch in the carriage, closed his eyes and coughed lightly, sat down and held his cold hand, and turned up the charcoal fire in the stove.His body temperature has always been cooler than ordinary people, but it has been astonishingly cold since just now. The carriage picked up speed and walked on the winter grassland, Hong Qing and Shi Yan were guarding outside the car, except for dozens of guards from the accompanying battalion and 300 elite cavalry from the Shenji Battalion, there was no one else in the line.

Kummer led the Jurchen cavalry long ago and disappeared without a trace, heading towards the Shanhai Pass. The cold wind outside the car finally turned into scattered light snow after midnight, and the chill came from the thick leather leaked through the window. Qingke didn't stop from the moment he got into the carriage, Gu Xingying was still investigating the situation of Jianzhou and Shanhaiguan at any time, and the spies were sent to the carriage, Xiao Huan just waited for a little better, and took those The spies can be seen by the lights in the car. In the middle of the night, the snow gradually became heavier, and it was really not suitable to continue on the road, so the carriage was parked by the roadside, and the rest of the people set up camp on the spot. Looking at his pale face under the lamp, I couldn't bear his tiredness, so I dragged him to sleep.He didn't object, and let me put him in the car and hug him to sleep, but after lying down, he still couldn't stop coughing, and his forehead was covered with cold sweat layer by layer. After resting like this for half the night, the next morning the heavy snow stopped for a while, and the group continued on their way. The snow-covered road was not easy to walk on. In addition, although the snow was not heavy, it continued intermittently, and the speed of travel was even slower. , Stopped and stopped like this, walked for four days, and finally saw the city wall of Shanhaiguan in the snow. Lifting the leather curtain of the carriage and walking under the carriage, the outline of the black city was engulfed by heavy snow, and the most majestic pass in the world stands under the gloomy sky, solemn and depressing. The moment I got off the carriage, I was in a daze. It was here ten years ago that I met Kummer for the first time. It was also in that year that I went to Jianzhou alone through Shanhaiguan. At that time, Xiao Huan disappeared, Empress Dowager Liu made King Yu the emperor, I made a promise to Xiao Qianqing that I would bring reinforcements back to the capital, and I took Xiao Huan's edict to Shanhaiguan, and then went to Jianzhou through Shanhaiguan.After running all night long, after seeing the strange city walls of Jianzhou, I felt inexplicably comforted, as if no matter how tired I was, it didn't matter.Because at that time, I knew that behind that city wall was Kummer, the Kummer who once showed his weak side to me like a lone wolf, and the Kummer who hugged me tenderly in the barracks.If there was one person I could trust back then, it had to be him. Trust with some people does not have to be established over a long period of time, but it is also timeless and strong. That year, Kummer did not disappoint me. This year, he sent troops to fight against the Tatars, and he did the same Xiao Huan was not disappointed. But, what will happen in the future?Judging from the current situation, I'm afraid no one can say for sure, right? The door curtain rustled slightly, Xiao Huan also stepped out of the car wearing a pure black cloak.Turning back to hold his still cold hand, I smiled at him. Smiling down at me, he gently held my hand. Knowing that Xiao Huan was coming, Cao Xi, the Liaodong General Soldier guarding Shanhaiguan Pass, brought a group of generals to meet him at the base of the city. At this time, he hurried over to say hello, and then led him to rest in the city. After getting off the car at the residence and changing into a set of light clothes in the room, Xiao Huan sat down in the outer room, and called Cao Xi and the guard officials in front of him. I stuffed a hand stove into his arms, and I made another cup of hot ginseng tea by his hand.He fingered the spy information he had seen on the road, and he didn't say much, but asked Cao Xi about the details of the military strength and military resources in the pass. When negotiating peace with Jurchen back then, Dawu had already lost Fushun Guard and Guangning Guard, and Liaodong was almost completely lost. In recent years, apart from Ningyuan and Jinzhou, which had formed horns with Shanhaiguan, and the defenders, Dawu outside Shanhaiguan has no more City to rely on.If Kummer led troops south from Jianzhou, and waited for the Jurchen army to cross the Liaohe River, once they were forced to the city, it would be another critical situation like Deyou's eight years. After hearing the report, there was silence in the room for a while, and suddenly, a young official came out behind Cao Xi: "I think a strong wall is not enough to calm the disaster!" This was said suddenly, Xiao Huan was not angry, and smiled: "Then what do you think?" The young official said in a deep voice: "The fertile fields in Liaodong are thousands of miles away, and the army is strong and strong. If you only defend but not attack, it is like a river of hundreds of rivers. If you only block it but not clear it, if you indulge more, there will always be a day when the embankment will burst." It was disrespectful for Yuqian to speak rashly just now. As soon as he said this, he was already accusing Xiao Huan of not taking advantage of the victory and signing a contract with Jurchen, which led to the current crisis. There was nothing wrong with others, a layer of sweat broke out on Cao Xi's forehead in an instant, and his hands in his sleeves trembled slightly. Xiao Huan smiled and asked again: "What's your name?" He must have risked his life to say those words, but the young official raised his head without any fear, and his eyes were even sharper: "Liu Shi'an, the head of the Ministry of Military Affairs." "Cao Qing, dispatch 10,000 cavalry, 30,000 infantry, and 20 Hongyi cannons, and arrive in Ningyuan before tomorrow morning. Liu Shi'an will immediately be appointed as Fang Silang in the Ministry of War, and supervise the Shanhaiguan." Xiao Huan said, put down Putting his hand on the case, he smiled at Liu Shi'an, "The Jinshi of Deyou for eleven years, I remember that General Cao sent you to Shanhaiguan. You can go to Ningyuan with me." The head of the sixth rank became the doctor of the fifth rank, Xiao Huan raised Liu Shi'an two ranks in a row. After being stunned for a moment, Liu Shi'an lifted his clothes and knelt down, with a calm and low voice: "The minister leads the decree." Smiling and nodding at him, Xiao Huan didn't speak, and coughed twice: "...get up." Standing beside him, I hurriedly passed the ginseng tea and leaned over to help him caress his chest.How could his body bear the exhaustion of the several days of travel, but when he arrived at Shanhaiguan, he was so brave that he refused to even take a break. He couldn't help complaining, "I won't listen to you when I tell you to sleep." He raised his head and smiled at me. He held my hand and said apologetically, "I made you worry." I glared at him, and I glanced at the officials and generals beside me who lowered their heads in embarrassment. Anyway, everyone in the government and the public knew that the empress had a close relationship, so I had nothing to shy away from, so I simply sat down beside him and held the The teacup was brought to his lips, and I asked him to drink tea with my hand to relieve his cough. What should be explained is also considered to be explained, Xiao Huan is indeed tired, and then he said some arrangements for the situation, and let those officials disperse and go to their own affairs. In the room that was quiet again, he seemed extremely tired. He closed his eyes and put his head on his hands and coughed lightly, with a faint look of tiredness between his brows.During the days of the battle with Er Sen, he had been holding on to his spirits, but when he was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief, something happened to Jurchen.After Kummer coughed up blood outside Datong that day, he coughed lightly from time to time. He was in a hurry for the past few days, and although he temporarily suppressed it with medicine, he still didn't get much better. I gently stroked his slender eyebrows with my fingers, I hugged his body, and gently placed a kiss on his pale lips, my heart ached so much that I wished I could share some of his pain with myself, but when it came to my mouth, I could only Neng muttered with a little dissatisfaction: "It's really not worry-free." Smiling lightly, he opened his eyes and looked at me, put his arm on my waist and patted it lightly: "It doesn't matter." These words were already making calluses on my ears, so I just gave him another look, thought about it, and said to him, "Brother Xiao, how are you going to explain it to Kummer?" It seemed that it was a little accidental that I asked such a question. He glanced at me, and he smiled, but didn't answer immediately. Of course I know why he has such an attitude, I rolled my eyes: "Are you thinking that just now you dispatched troops to Jinzhou in front of me, and still used Liu Shi'an in the main battle, I won't question you I really want to start a war with Kummer, but instead I come to ask you how you plan to explain it, isn't it strange?" He laughed lightly, but he didn't comment, he just didn't speak. I loosened the hand holding his waist slightly so that I could see his face more clearly, and I looked at him: "Don't think that I still can't understand your mind like ten years ago!" Still smiling lightly, his deep double pupils were full of brilliance, he smiled and said after a while: "So you never understood my mind ten years ago?" I didn't expect him to drag the topic so far, and it was obviously rascally. I really didn't expect Xiao Huan to do this trick. Finally, I couldn't help laughing, and pointed to his shoulder: "I said sometimes ! Don't make false accusations!" He said that just to make me laugh, and now he laughed softly, and tilted his head slightly. The atmosphere suddenly relaxed, I smiled, and glanced at the Moyu landscape screen in the house. This is the small building where Xiao Huan lived in Shanhaiguan in the eighth year of Deyou.After Xiao Huan lived there that year, the building should have been sealed. This time, it was reopened in a hurry, but the room was cleaned and the furnishings were not changed. I remember that time in the eighth year of Deyou, when Xiao Huan and I came back from outside the customs, a furnace of incense from Du Tingxin was still lit in the inner room. Happiness came too quickly after a narrow escape. Did Xiao Huan really exist? As soon as I sat down and hugged him, my brother rushed up and took me back to the capital. Looking back at Xiao Huan's face, I watched him quietly, the face in front of me was still the same as before, but something seemed to have been silently changed in the years.Almost bit by bit, he carefully traced the lines on his face.He also looked at me quietly with his straight and long eyebrows on his temples and the never-fading warm smile on his lips. In those double pure black pupils, today's lights are reflected brightly, the brilliance is even more prosperous than that of the past, but there is more silence that dives into the depths, so the splendor of the sky filled with stars all sinks into the boundless waves. In the deep sea, that kind of light shines out from the deep seabed, and the heavy flowers are deeply restrained. Looking into it, there is only the sky and the sea, which are boundless. Suddenly, I felt that it had been a long time since I looked at him carefully. When I was young, I was always in a hurry. I was afraid that I didn’t work hard enough, and my life was too ordinary. In recent years, I have been entangled in family affairs, state affairs, and mundane affairs, so I was too eager to move forward. , On the contrary, I forgot what is the real thing that should be grasped seriously. Taking a deep breath, I leaned over, kissed his eyelids lightly, stood up, smiled and took his hand and walked into the inner room. He never said anything to my sudden willfulness, he just smiled and let me pull him all the way in. I stood on tiptoe and kissed his thin lips lightly, I stopped in front of the bed with hanging curtains, put my arms around his neck, and licked his earlobe with a smile: "Brother Xiao, what Deyou didn't have time to do in eight years, we Make it up now, okay?" Having already understood what I wanted to do, he lowered his head and laughed, but didn't answer right away, concentrating and not speaking. Afraid that he would feel unwell, I quickly held his hand and said, "Brother Xiao, are you in good health?" "It's okay." As if he had finished thinking about something, he smiled, "Today is fine." What can I do today?Before I could understand this inexplicable sentence, his kiss suddenly fell on my neck. With indifferent warmth on his lips, his voice was close to his ears: "Cang Cang, the door is not closed." The faint scent of plants and trees on his body pierced into my nose, and I was almost turned into a scum with the fire of desire, I don't care if it's good or not!Lifting his legs without looking, he kicked on the unlucky door, only heard a "bang", no matter whether it was closed or not, he hugged Xiao Huan's waist and led him to the bed. Concerned that he was still ill, I did not forget to ask when I went to untie his belt: "Would it be uncomfortable?" He seemed to be really helpless, grabbed my hand, and sighed softly in my ear: "Cang Cang, there is no need to confirm so many times." Before he finished speaking, my other hand, which was not caught, couldn't be idle for a long time. I tore open the hem of his shirt three times, and stroked the two scars on his chest with my fingers, followed by the kiss. up. Kissing his chest inch by inch, raising her head, her lips fell on his cool thin lips again. There was a slightly bitter herbal aroma in his mouth, I pried open his teeth, I took a light bite on his lips, and then stepped back to appreciate the red mark I made. His cheeks were already stained red, he was always helpless for my bad habit of biting him, and he looked at me with a smile. I tore off the clothes on him indiscriminately, but when I was anxious to untie my shirt, I was caught by a small belt, and I couldn't pull it off after a few tugs, I was in a hurry. On the opposite side, he seemed to be unable to restrain his laughter, and he laughed lightly. I looked up and stared angrily, and wrapped my hands around his fingers. His white and slender fingers almost slowly helped me to untie the ribbon on my clothes, and then he smiled lightly, and there was a faint light in his pure black eyes: "Don't be in a hurry..." Frustration arose spontaneously, and he wanted to throw him down in one go, but who knew that he would be so ugly when he came up.She made persistent efforts to rush forward to hug him again, before the person who kissed him, a cool breath with sweet fragrance fell on her cheek even faster. He lowered his head and kissed me lightly, and then, his kiss fell on my lips, the cool thin lips only stayed for a moment, then passed by, and stopped in my ear, his voice was a little hoarse, with a smile on his face With a smile: "Cangcang..." The drunken numbness dissipated from the pinnae of the ears to the whole body, my head was probably passed out, so I laughed a couple of times without knowing it, hugged him and rolled into the depths of the bed. After all, being concerned about Xiao Huan's body, the two of them were a little restrained, and the process was gentle. Lying in the curtain afterwards, both of them were sweating, but lying quietly together like this cuddled together, seemed to be floating in the clouds. Brushing away the broken hair on Xiao Huan's forehead beside me, I turned over to look at him, lowered my head and kissed his slightly pink lips, and whispered to him: "Brother Xiao, I love you." He smiled and let me kiss him, stretched his arms around my shoulders, he was still smiling, and gently held me in his arms.