Chapter 145 Chapter 19 Enemies Meet

The night is already deep, wild birds fly overhead, the phosphorescence of carrion is shining on the feet, and the horseshoes are beating on the ice layer that has been accumulated for thousands of years and tens of thousands of years. , the wind blows from a distance, with a dry and cold breath, the weather is getting colder and colder, the north wind is like a mad tiger, howling all day long, Chu Qiao sits on the horseback and shrinks inward On his neck, he stuck out his tongue and licked his dry lips. The lights in front of him were far away, but not close to the front. I don't know how long it took before the team finally stopped. Chu Qiao turned over and jumped down. Feeling that the muscles on her face were almost stiff and numb from the cold, she stretched out her hands to rub them, unloaded the luggage from the horse's back, and took it apart. After unpacking the big burden, I started to gather firewood to make a fire.

At the same time, smoke rose from the dark army not far ahead. When the fur curtains of Yan Xun's tent moved, Ah Jing walked in with snowflakes all over his head, seeing a young general standing beside Yan Xun whispering something, his complexion suddenly turned ugly. Yan Xun glanced at him lightly, his eyes were very dull, he couldn't see any emotion, just quietly listening to the man's words, nodding his head from time to time, Ah Jing stood awkwardly at the door, his face was slightly red After a long time, he finally coughed on purpose and said loudly, "Your Highness, I have something to report."

Yan Xun seemed to be aware of his existence only at this moment, he raised his head, looked at him lightly, and said calmly, "Go outside and wait." Ah Jing's face suddenly became even redder. He looked at the person beside Yan Xun angrily. He saw that person bent over, looking very respectful and humble. Full of anger.He agreed in a low voice, then turned around and walked out of the big tent, his boots fell on the ground with a bang bang. It was surprisingly cold outside, the north wind was blowing heavy snow, and the torch poured with pine oil was whistling in the wind. Ah Jing was standing at the door, and the guards on the left and right did not speak when they saw him, but just saluted lightly as if he had been beaten. Greeting, Ah Jing felt uncomfortable for a while, he didn't know any of the current imperial guards, and he, the captain of the imperial guards, was almost becoming a decoration.

I don't know how long it took, Ah Jing was jumping up and down on the spot, rubbing her hands and walking back and forth, suddenly saw the curtain move again, and a young officer in a dark blue straight military uniform walked through it with a handsome face out. "Cough... bah!" Ah Jing coughed on purpose, and then spat vigorously under his feet, which landed on the tip of the officer's shoe.The officer stopped immediately and turned his head slowly, but just met Ah Jing's provocative eyes. The officer was expressionless, his eyes were dark, he turned slightly, then turned around and walked in as if nothing had happened. In the thick darkness.

"You coward! You're useless!" Ah Jing scolded loudly, "No wonder you want to be a deserter!" The night was pitch black, and the figure of that person could not be seen in a blink of an eye, Ah Jing hummed twice, turned around and entered the big tent. Yan Xun was looking at the map under the lamp, he didn't raise his head when he heard his footsteps coming in, but asked in a deep voice, "What's the matter?" Ah Jing calmed down, and quickly said: "Your Highness, the girl is still following. It's such a cold day, and there is no tent to spend the night, so..."

"What?" Yan Xun's beautiful brows slowly frowned, and he raised his head, his eyes were dark, his voice was very low, and his tone was very drawn out, but mixed with a few traces of obvious anger, he said slowly: " Didn't you say she has gone back?" Ah Jing scratched her head, and whispered: "Yes, I saw the girl turn around and go to Beishuo with my own eyes, but she followed her again at night." "Trash!" Yan Xun threw the map on the table and said angrily, "A group of men can't even look at an individual." Ah Jing lowered her head in grievance, and said nothing, but she said in her heart, "That's your heart. We dare not do it, we dare not use it violently, and we dare not tie it up and send it back. She promised to send it back." I'll go back in a while, who knows I'll follow up again.

Yan Xun turned around and picked up the big fur on the hanger, put it on his body and walked out.Ah Jing was overjoyed when she saw it, and hurriedly came forward and said courteously: "Your Highness, I have prepared all the horses for you, let's go quickly, we are going late, the girl is going to be cold, and my subordinates will go Tell me, Your Highness, why don’t you care about the girl? Apart from you in Yanbei, the girl is the number two person. The girl followed you in Zhenhuang to share the joys and sorrows. How can those treacherous white-eyed wolves compare? The subordinates know... "

However, before he finished speaking, he suddenly realized that the people behind him hadn't followed him. He turned his head and saw Yan Xun standing in the center of the big tent, his face was shining brightly from the candle in the downlight. Bright and flickering, faintly gray light and shadow swaying on the cheeks, as if separated by an impenetrable fog. "Your Highness...Your Highness?" Ah Jing whispered tentatively. Yan Xun stood there with silent eyes, like clouds cruising in the sky. Finally, he lowered his hand that was tying the fur belt, and said calmly, "Take twenty Guard, go and fetch her."

"Ah?" Ah Jing opened her mouth blankly and asked, "Your Highness, are you not going?" Yan Xun didn't say anything, just turned around lightly, took off his coat, walked slowly to the desk, rubbed his fingers over the huge map of Yanbei, and didn't speak for a long time. Yan Xun's back was hidden in the heavy lights, the light was so bright that people couldn't look closely at it.In a trance, Ah Jing suddenly felt that his eyes seemed to be dazzled. Looking at Yan Xun's back, he suddenly remembered that many years ago in the Shengjin Palace, on that dazzling morning, the emperor of Daxia walked out of the palace. He knelt down in the middle of the crowd, raised his head secretly, but was almost dazzled by the golden dragon robe.

"Yes, this subordinate obeys." Ah Jing agreed, but before she left, she heard Yan Xun's deep voice: "From now on, you are not allowed to enter the big tent without a notification." The young Yanbei soldier nodded silently, no longer as lively as before, and answered sternly: "Yes, this subordinate obeys orders." When Chu Qiao followed Ah Jing into the camp, Yan Xun had already fallen asleep. She was dazed looking at Yan Xun's big tent with the lights turned off. , must have been very tired." "En," Chu Qiao nodded, without any particular emotion, she just said quietly, "Then I'll go back first."

When she returned to the tent, her hands and feet were already numb from the cold. Ah Jing led people in to bring hot water to her. Although most of the soldiers did not know her, they had heard her name and deeds. He poked his head outside and didn't leave until Ah Jing scolded him. After a while, the curtain moved, and a small head flashed in from outside, and said with a smile, "Lord Chu!" "Ping An?" Chu Qiao was slightly surprised. Du Ping'an was wearing a small military uniform. After a few days of not seeing him, he seemed to have grown taller. After the Beishuo war ended that day, she became ill and never cared about him. I didn't expect to see you here today, so I hurriedly said, "Why are you here?" "I'm a soldier." "You? Serving as a soldier?" Chu Qiao was taken aback, "How old are you?" "My lord, don't look down on me. Just now, General Ah Jing said that Ping An will be the girl's orderly from now on. You can entrust me with any chores you have." orderly?That's good, at least you don't have to go to the battlefield.Chu Qiao smiled slightly, rubbed the child's hair, and said, "Go tell Ah Jing, just say that I thank him." "The general doesn't keep watch tonight, it's Master Cheng who keeps watch." Chu Qiao raised her eyebrows slightly, Ah Jing is Yan Xun's personal guard, and has always been the most loyal guard, how could she not keep watch?He asked, "Master Cheng? Which Master Cheng?" "I don't know either." Ping An was still young after all, and frowned childishly: "I knew that adult's surname was Cheng." "Oh," Chu Qiao nodded, "It's getting late, you should go back and rest first." Ping An agreed crisply, seemed very happy, and went out the door bouncing around.Looking at his back, Chu Qiao suddenly felt a little sad. If it was in modern times, a child of this age would still be carrying a schoolbag to school every day, hiding in his parents' arms and crying like a baby, but here, However, he took on the responsibility of taking care of his younger sister prematurely, and lived a life of licking blood. After washing her face, the water was still boiling hot before and it was already a bit cold. She took off her boots and struggled, hissing and hurting. Her feet were already swollen from the cold, red and purple, and itched when they were heated to the fire. Taking a deep breath, he took a bite of the dry food that was just delivered, and then leaned against the warm quilt, feeling a little lost in thought. What happened that day, after all, there is still a grudge in the hearts of the two of them. Although she behaved so quietly and how hard Yan Xun tried to adjust and restore it, some things are like porcelain. , then no matter what remedies are done, it will be useless, at best, it can be inlaid with gold and jade to whitewash the peace. Because of her illness, Yan Xun postponed the departure of the army for two full days. During these two days, he stayed in front of the sick bed all day and all night, feeding her food and drinking water, and even brewing medicine himself.However, when Chu Qiao proposed to join the army, he still refused decisively. The reasons are so good that it is almost impossible to refute, but no matter how much those words sounded for her sake, how reasonable, but Chu Qiao's Yan Xun's words from that day still kept echoing in his mind: "If they break the military law again in the future, I won't be merciful to my subordinates." It's a warning, but how can you be sure it's not a signal?Chu Qiao felt guilty for her own thoughts. Since when did she become so wary of him?Except for that day, Yan Xun was still as good to her as ever, so good that Chu Qiao even thought that everything that day was just a dream.However, on the day when the army marched out, she stopped in front of the city gate with all her armor on, kneeling on the ground with one knee and begging to join the army to join the battle, Yan Xun was angry. This is the first time he got angry with her, and he didn't curse angrily, but looked at her for a long time, as if he saw a lot of things through her thin shoulders, in the end, he just asked softly: "Ah Chu , What are you worried about?" Then, before she could answer, she rode past without even turning her head. The soldiers surrounded her and told her to go back to the house immediately. She watched Yan Xun's leaving figure quietly, and suddenly felt desolate in her heart.He understands everything, knows everything, he has so many thoughts, he asked her, what are you worried about?But Yan Xun, how about you?What are you worried about? After all, she followed up. As he said, she was worried, yes, she was worried about him, she was afraid that he would kill all the envoys of the Southwest Township, and on the battlefield, an army would be killed without a trace. There are really too many ways to eliminate them. The officers and soldiers of the Southwest Township government risked their lives to follow her. She couldn't let them die inexplicably like this. Maybe it's her villainous heart, but Yan Xun, since you know what I'm afraid of, why don't you make a promise to me?Or, you don't dare at all, and what I'm afraid of is already in your plan? The charcoal fire on the ground was burning quietly, it was the best white charcoal, there was only a faint smoke that was almost invisible, Chu Qiao stared at it steadily, her eyes gradually became dry and sore.Her illness has not fully recovered, and she has trekked in the cold wind for a whole day, and her fatigue hits like a tide. She is wearing white single clothes, curled up on the bed, blows out the candle, and sleeps quietly past. The moon outside was shining brightly, shining brightly on the snow below.It was pitch black inside the tent, and the wind was blowing. There were no trees on the flat ground, and only the chirping of nighthawks could be heard, cutting fiercely across the quiet night sky. I don't know how long it took, the surroundings were pitch black, and there was a sudden icy cold sensation on her feet. Chu Qiao closed her eyes, frowned slightly, and then she sat up suddenly as if she had been electrocuted, and said coldly: " Who?" In the darkness, a tall figure sat at the foot of the bed. The man was dressed in soft cloth. With the faint light, the outline of his eyebrows and eyes could be vaguely seen. He sat there, gently holding her frostbitten foot with his palm, A bowl was placed on the edge of the bed, and a strong medicinal fragrance emanated from it. "Woke up?" Yan Xun said quietly, then stood up and lit the candle, the warm yellow fire light shone on his face, giving off a peaceful and peaceful aura.He sat back again, stretched out his slender fingers, dipped in the medicine, and then smeared it on her frostbite finely, the fingertips were gentle, like a gentle wind, gently sweeping across her fingertips and insteps, Yan Xun Without looking up, his eyes were like a pool of cold water, and he said calmly: "Your feet need medicine every day. In the army, there are no maids to serve you like in the mansion. There are complicated affairs here. Don't forget to take care of them when you get busy. own body." The medicine is cool, and it is very comfortable to apply on it. Chu Qiao's feet are small and cute, and a section of snow-white calf is exposed above. Yan Xun applied the medicine to her with one hand, and grabbed her ankle with the other. His voice was like water, quietly The embarrassment and embarrassment between the two passed away. "En, I see." Chu Qiao nodded, biting her lips, but didn't know what to say.She thought of the years in the palace. In winter, her feet would be frostbitten, red and swollen, festered and bleeding. At the worst time, she couldn't even get off the ground.In the first days, they didn't have any wound medicine, so Yan Xun rubbed her with wine, seeing how painful she was, and jokingly said that he wanted to get her drunk so that he wouldn't feel the pain.At that time, Yan Xun's eyes were crooked, as if a star had shattered in his eyes, shining brightly.Even now, every night, she can still dream of his appearance at that time, so clear, so clear that she almost forgot what he looks like now. "Have a good rest." After taking the medicine, Yan Xun stood up, holding the bowl and said, "I'm going first." "Yan Xun..." As soon as Yan Xun turned around, he found that the corner of his clothes was held by a small tender white hand. The hand was so thin, with slender fingers, as white as transparent. Hearing her voice, his heart suddenly moved. Softened, he turned his head, looked into Chu Qiao's eyes, and asked quietly, "What's the matter?" "are you angry with me?" Yan Xun looked at her, and asked in a calm voice, "Should I be angry?" Chu Qiao was slightly out of breath, the big tent was very stuffy, she pursed her lips, and said, "I don't know." The atmosphere suddenly turned cold, neither of them spoke, and there was an embarrassing smell in the air. Yan Xun was tall and tall, with black hair and eyes like obsidian, looking at her quietly.Chu Qiao's cheeks were pale, and she finally raised her head slowly, looked into Yan Xun's eyes, shook his cuffs, and said softly, "Just let me follow you, okay?" Yan Xun stood silently for a long time, he looked at Chu Qiao's face without speaking, many emotions flashed through his mind one by one, making him unable to grasp the truest self.The rise of the Yanbei regime is too fast, and now it is like sailing against the current, every step must be cautious, he frowned, meditating on his future plans and strategies, filtering one by one, one by one, finally, he spoke Said: "Ah Chu, do you know what is the biggest hidden danger in Yanbei at present?" Chu Qiao raised her head and didn't answer, because she knew that she didn't need to answer at this moment.Sure enough, Yan Xun asked himself and answered: "The warlords are divided, each governs independently, the forces of Datong are intertwined, the military's government orders are unstable, and everyone has their own loyal commander. These are the fatal injuries of Yanbei." Yan Xun stretched out his hand, stroked the hair behind Chu Qiao's ear, and said: "These all need to be rectified and cleaned. Although bloody, this is the only way for a regime to gain a firm foothold. There is no right The difference is that the situation is forcing me to go like this, and I don't want you to get involved, do you understand?" Chu Qiao nodded: "I understand, Yan Xun, I don't command soldiers, I just want to be by your side." Hearing Chu Qiao's words, Yan Xun was obviously a little taken aback. He thought that Chu Qiao must be the leader of the Southwest Township's envoy after she caught up with her. Warm ripples, nodded, and said softly: "That's good." Yan Xun put down her hand and was about to leave, put on a blue cotton cloak, her body was a little thinner, Chu Qiao looked at him, suddenly felt a bit of sadness in her heart, she bit her lip and said: "Yan Xun, do you trust me? " Yan Xun's footsteps stopped, but he didn't turn his head back, his voice sounded faintly like waves and fine sand. "Achu, I never doubted you, I just hope to protect you from right and wrong before the turmoil comes, that's all." The curtain of the big tent shook slightly, and the figure disappeared in a flash. Chu Qiao sat on the bed and suddenly lost sleepiness. There was no sound, everything was quiet and serene, she rang the words many years ago, they promised each other that there would be no secrets, and that they would always be honest and not let misunderstandings and estrangement stand between them.It's a pity that this is only a dream after all. There are many things in this world that cannot be told to others, especially those who love you. She should trust him, Chu Qiao bit her lip quietly, if she didn't trust him, who else could she trust? She tried hard to convince herself, and then lay down. Before she closed her eyes, she vaguely saw the row of severed heads in the square that day, with blood splattered and messy everywhere. After walking for seven days in a row, they arrived at the Xuekui River in Yao Province. The base camp was built against the mountain, with 200,000 troops stationed there. It is not without reason that Chu Qiao gave up the command of the Southwest Township. After the first battle in Beishuo, Chu Qiao's reputation in Yanbei was close to that of Yan Xun, and there were many praises for her in the army. With Yan Xun's achievements, he is faintly number two in Yanbei.As for the envoys of the Southwest Township, as the rebels who directly led to the defeat of Yan Shicheng, the people of Yanbei have extremely complicated feelings for them. They have resentment for many years and gratitude to them for guarding Yanbei. Emotions can be used by others. The Southwest Township's envoy's loyalty to Chu Qiao is well known throughout the world. Once she continues to lead this team, Yan Xun will lose command of the Southwest Township's envoy, and this team will become her veritable private army. Such a thing is absolutely intolerable to any emperor.Therefore, she must give up her military power and stand by Yan Xun's side, so that if something happens, she will have a neutral position, whether it is a good thing for the Southwest Township's envoy or herself. Her thoughts were sound. However, when she saw the new chief of the Southwest Township's envoy, she was stunned. Her brows became tighter and tighter, her eyes were sharp like knives, and the young general in blue military uniform He looked at her politely with a light smile, and then said quietly, "Master Chu, long time no see." "General Cheng." Chu Qiao's eyes were cold, she sneered, and said slowly: "After Beishuo said goodbye, General Xue Zhiyuan died tragically, and General Cheng left with General Xia An. I thought I would never have the chance to see General Jin again in this life I have met, I did not expect to meet again here today, it is really gratifying." Cheng Yuan smiled slightly, and said calmly: "Where in life do we not meet again, my lord and I are destined." Chu Qiao snorted coldly, turned around and walked towards Yan Xun's big tent, and said in a cold voice as she walked, "He Xiao, watch out for the team. Before I come back, no one is allowed to dictate to the Southwest town government!" "Yes!" He Xiao replied loudly. The cold wind blew on Chu Qiao's face, her cheeks flushed with anger. General Xue, I can finally avenge you!