Chapter 4 Chapter Thirty-Four

February 2nd is the beginning of spring, but the sky is still not full of spring.This day is the prince's big wedding, and he canonized one concubine and two concubines. The concubine is the daughter of Duke Hongyue.This marriage is not without the intention of using in-laws to win over Duke Hongyue, and Duke Cangyue's rebellion must have greatly touched the emperor.Although the concubine is the beloved daughter of Lord Hongyue, she is said to be not good-looking, short and fat, the prince of Yushu Lingfeng must not be very satisfied with this marriage.And one of the two side concubines was Qin Yanchun, and the other was her.

I am also a general, and I have to go to court to congratulate the prince when he gets married.Kneeling among a group of civil servants and generals, watching the crown prince in auspicious clothes accepting the congratulations of civil and military officials, my heart seemed to be bleeding, and I almost didn't know how I came back. Xue Wenyi was desperate in the end, he had already forgotten about Qin Yanchun, but I knew I would never forget.Even though her face is gradually blurred in my memory, I will never forget it, never. After the prince got married, Xue Wen also got married.He is Wailang, a member of the Ministry of Industry. This official said he was not big, he said he was not small, and the number of people who came to congratulate him was not too small.When I drank his wedding wine, I watched his smiling face, and I just wondered whether he still remembered Qin Yanchun.

At this time, the war in Beining City had subsided, and the snake men surrounded them but did not attack. It seemed that they really had to wait until the beginning of spring before attacking aggressively.Marquis Wen secretly ordered the defenders of Beining to retreat gradually. At this time, Beining City still has 50,000 defenders. If it continues to be consumed, although the Snake Man cannot break Beining City, the 50,000 defenders will be exhausted in the city sooner or later. As soon as the defenders returned to the imperial capital, everyone felt relieved, and praised Marquis Wen for his decisive decision.Listening to their talk, I was a little dazed again. At that time, I only thought that the army guarding Beining City could make the villages along the way safe, but I didn't think that those soldiers were human beings, and they also wanted to be safe.There may be something to be done if we stick to Beining City, but the morale of the army is bound to decline day by day.From this point of view, I really don't think as far as Wen Hou.

Marquis Wen's new army is still stepping up training, and 20,000 people in this new army have completed their training. They are divided into Bi Wei and Deng Canglan, and they are designated as the Water Army and the Fire Army.The water army is naturally a water army, but this new army is different from the previous navy. It is usually stationed on a ship, but it can go on land to fight at any time. It can be said that it is equipped with both land and water.But the Fire Legion is very secretive, others only know the name, but Bi Wei can't see it.But I guessed a little bit, this Fire Legion must be a troop mainly based on long-range weapons, Thunder Crossbow, plus Shenlong Cannon.The water corps has already surprised people, and once the fire corps is pulled out, it will definitely shock people.It's just that I think that with the formation of the water and fire armies, there is a lack of a legion that operates exclusively on land, and this legion should be the most important. I don't know what Marquis Wen thinks, but there is no news about it now.

At this time, Tang Kai entered the military academy as an instructor under my recommendation.Although the instructor is not a big official position, his status is not too low, Tang Kai finally agreed.Although I was helping Tang Kai, I was relieved when Tang Kai agreed, as if I had something to ask of him.I have always felt guilty towards Xiao Xinyu, and I always feel that if I can see farther, Xiao Xinyu may not necessarily die. In mid-February, I was ordered to switch defenses and go to the new army station in Xiongguan City to participate in training.Xiongguan City itself has a garrison of 10,000 troops. It was originally the location of the garrison outside the imperial capital. At its peak, it reached 120,000 troops. At this time, there are only about 40,000 troops, and these 40,000 people are all recruits who have been trained for less than half a year.

As soon as I arrived at Xiongguan City, I felt that this new army was quite different from the past.Although the equipment is not as good as in the past, those soldiers have high fighting spirit. They train for five hours a day. Even the experienced vanguard battalion can't bear this level of intensity. When I first arrived in Xiongguan City, I was so tired that I almost topple. In Xiongguan City, I am subordinate to Deng Canglan.Since the last time Marquis Wen took him to the palace to receive the reward, I haven't seen this famous general of the younger generation.Deng Canglan is very different from Bi Wei. He always keeps his hands on the book and is always reading.He has always been indifferent to me, but he is still polite, but Li Yaotian and I, who came with him, have a similar taste and get along very well.Li Yaotian became famous because of the war against Japan. Marquis Wen specially asked Juluo King to assist Deng Canglan. This man is skilled in spears and horses, and has a deep understanding of the art of war. , I was very heartbroken, and sometimes I felt that his talent seemed to be higher than that of Deng Canglan.Talking to him also helped me a lot.

This day is late March.Li Yaotian and I were talking about anecdotes and strange things we had seen, while drinking and eating barbecue.There is a way of eating in Juluo Island that is not found anywhere else. It is to put stones on the fire and burn them red, then take them out, spread the meat slices on top and roast them, and then dip them in seasonings to eat.Li Yaotian himself is no different from the people of the empire, but he still loves these hometown flavors in terms of food.I was chatting and laughing with him, and I was having a good time when I felt my hands were greasy, so I took a sweat towel from my bosom to wipe my hands.Just as he took out the sweat towel, he brought out a mottled cloth. Li Yaotian had sharp eyes and said with a smile, "General Chu, what are you doing?"

I picked up the dirty cloth, but I couldn't remember what it was for a while, so I took it over and looked at it, and then I remembered that it was given to me by Mu Kun when I went to the snake camp to replace the second prince.After I came back from the snake man camp, I was locked up by the second prince, and after I changed my clothes, I forgot that I still had this piece of cloth.I smiled and said, "This is a long story, let me tell you slowly." He took it over and looked at it, and suddenly said with emotion: "This is Fuxi's picture of offering sacrifices to heaven!"

I was also taken aback, and said, "What? You also know the name Fuxi?" He returned the piece of cloth to me and said: "At the foot of the King Kong Mountain in Juluo, there is a sage temple, there are some stone carvings, I don't know when they were left, and the engravings are also this picture of Fuxi's offering sacrifices to heaven, which is similar to this one. " I said, "What the hell is Fuxi?" Li Yaotian gave me a strange look and said, "Have you seen this picture but don't know it? According to the legend of the elders, Fuxi is the ancient holy king and the ancestor of the world." He smiled again and continued: " Because the Fuxi family has the head of a man and the body of a snake, no one talks about it now."

I couldn't help but fell into deep thought.I always thought that the "Fuxi and Nuwa gods" that the snake people said were fabricated by them, but I didn't expect it to be true.If there were rumors about Fuxi and Nuwa, does it mean that what Mu Kun said at that time was true?And what they said was the truth, so we became the uninvited guests who took everything away from the snake people? Li Yaotian saw that I was deep in thought, he said: "What's wrong?" I forced a smile and said, "It's nothing. I heard a snake man say that this world was originally left to the two-limbed people by Fuxi and Nuwa, and then we four-limbed people robbed their land."

Li Yaotian curled his lips and said: "Don't listen to those monsters' nonsense, in fact, this legend has been passed down for a long time, and there was no news of snake people at that time. Besides, I heard from the old man that Nuwa made people out of clay, and made them It's not the snake people, it's people like us with arms and legs." Li Yaotian said it lightly, even though he is considerably older than me, I almost have a kind of admiration for him.If Li Yao was born in the empire, I am afraid that only Zhen Yining can stand shoulder to shoulder with him. I am afraid that I will never have the opportunity to sit on an equal footing with him talking and laughing.I put the piece of cloth back into my arms and didn't make any further noises. Li Yaotian suddenly said, "By the way, General Chu, I saw your forward battalion practicing a formation yesterday. It's extremely miraculous. What is that?" I said: "That's the Eight Formation Diagram. It's a formation I got from the Xifu Army. It's really amazing, haha." I had a drill with Li Yaotian's troops yesterday, and each led 500 people against the enemy. In the end, Li Yaotian I was beaten to pieces.Although I led a striker battalion who had experienced hundreds of battles, he led five hundred new recruits, so he would not have been my opponent in the first place, but Li Yaotian must have never expected that he would lose so quickly.Thinking of his annoyed look at that time, I am still very proud until now. He enviously said: "General Chu, can you pass this formation to me?" I wanted to find an excuse to shirk it, but seeing his hopeful face, I couldn't bear to refuse. After thinking about it, I said, "Okay, I'll give you the map, and you can make a copy." There is also some regret. Li Yaotian stood up suddenly, I was startled, but he bowed to the ground and said to me: "General Chu, thank you very much." He was so moved that he seemed about to shed tears, I supported him and said, "General Li, please get up, a formation map wouldn't be like this." He let out a long sigh and said: "General Chu, you don't know something. Although Yaotian is favored by Lord Wenhou, the imperial army always feels that such an outsider like me can be the deputy general of General Deng. They have never accepted me. , After losing to your subordinates in the exercise yesterday, you even said that I have earned my reputation. General Chu can be so magnanimous, Yaotian is really grateful, and General Chu is sincere and outstanding." Although the Eight Formation Diagram is also a unique secret of the Xifu Army, it is not so secret that it should be concealed from others. If Li Yaotian watched our exercises a few more times, he would probably be able to figure out the way to do it.He praised me so much, thinking that I regretted agreeing to him just now, I couldn't help feeling a little hot on my face.I helped him up and said, "General Li, you're out of touch like this. General Li's skillful use of troops has always been my admiration. What's more, now that I'm a colleague and we're fighting against the enemy together, why worry about such trivial matters." Tears glistened in Li Yaotian's eyes, looking at his appearance, I felt a little sad for no reason.He is an outstanding general, although Marquis Wen thinks highly of him, and Deng Canglan respects him very much, but the soldiers of the empire still look down on him, just because he was born on Juluo Island.I grabbed his arm and felt his body trembling, I must be extremely excited. Passing on his Eight Formation Map is just a trivial matter to me, and I feel ashamed that he was so moved.After he stood up, he felt around his body again, and suddenly found a small ball and said, "General Chu, I dare not thank you for your kindness. Yaotian also has something small that he would like to ask General Chu to accept." I only know what kind of treasures it is, and to be honest, if it can be sold for a good price, it will be worthwhile.I took it over and said, "Thank you, General Li. What is this?" The thing was as big as a child's fist. I thought it was a gold object, but when I received it, I felt it was only about two catties.Li Yaotian said: "General Chu, this is a meteor hammer handed down from my family. It is for immediate use. Look." He took it over, raised his hand, and the small meteor hammer flew out like lightning, striking the table.There was originally an empty wine jug on the table, but when the meteor hammer hit the wine jug, the wine jug flew straight out and smashed to pieces on the ground, and the meteor hammer was as straight as a living thing, and returned to his hand in the blink of an eye.Surprised and delighted, I took it over and said, "It's a hidden weapon." Li Yaotian nodded and said: "Although it is not very useful, but if you practice well, within five steps, you can hit a hundred shots." He told me how to use the meteor hammer.It turns out that this meteor hammer doesn't have any strange tricks, it's all ingenious in exerting force. After I tried it twice, I felt that I had figured out the way.This meteor hammer is filled with lead, although it is made of wrought copper, it is much heavier than a copper hammer of the same size, it is really hard to resist when hitting people within five steps.Although it's fancy, it's not as good as a hand crossbow if you really want to use it, but he gave it to me, of course I couldn't refuse, thanked him and put away the meteor hammer.The handle of the meteor hammer is made of deer tendon, which is thin and tough. It is not unusual to hang it on the waist at ordinary times. When you want to use it, put it on your wrist. The hammer can be hidden in the palm of your hand. No one can see it at all. Take it back, very deftly.It's just that when fighting on the battlefield, if the distance between you and the enemy general is only five steps, you must have no time to kill. Sitting down again, Li Yaotian was still flipping through the map of the eight formations I gave him, and sighed: "It is said that there were many formations in the Central Plains in the past, but they were never left behind. Someone, someone else can make up these eight formations, this person is really too smart." He himself is an extremely smart person, but the "too smart" person he mentioned is Zhou Nuo who was played by Tao Shouzhuo in the palm of his hand, but Tao Shouzhuo failed to make up the eight formations. It may not be everything. Li Yaotian flipped through the eight formations, admiring "unbelievable" and "unfathomable" from time to time. I wanted to ask him about Fuxi and Nuwa again. He was absent-minded. I said it twice before raising my head and saying: : "You said that the Temple of Saints..." Just as he was about to speak, there was a long blast of horns from outside.This is an emergency call-in order. If you blow this call-in order, I am afraid that something serious has happened. We were all taken aback. At the same time, we stood up and rushed out without caring about cleaning up. Most of the ranks in the new army are not high, and the crown prince and Marquis Wen are presiding in name, but Deng Canglan is actually presiding now.When Li Yaotian and I arrived at the meeting hall, most of the generals and generals have already arrived.Deng Canglan sat down at the head, his face was very calm, there was a rusty general beside him, he probably just arrived, his face was still covered with a lot of dust, but he looked anxious.When we were all seated, Deng Canglan said: "Generals, this is General Zhong Shang, the urgent envoy sent by Lord Wenhou just now, and he brought an urgent military message." Deng Canglan looked at us, and we all looked at him nervously.In fact, you don't need to think about it to guess, it must be news that the battle situation is unfavorable.Sure enough, Deng Canglan said: "Yesterday the snake men broke through the city of Beining and gathered towards the south gate of the imperial capital. Lord Wenhou ordered us to return to the army urgently for reinforcements." He looked at Zhong Shang, and Zhong Shang probably felt that he should say a few words. He stood up abruptly, but coughed twice before saying: "Generals, the Snake Man has broken through Beining City. His Royal Highness has an order to All the generals immediately lead the troops to help, and there must be no mistakes." Although I had prepared for the news, I still felt dizzy when I heard it.Marquis Wen should be mainly responsible for the fall of Beining City. If he hadn't kept withdrawing his defenses, Beining City would never have fallen so easily.What is his plan?Is it relying on Wuyun City to fight against the city?Keeping the snake people out of Beining City, at least there is still room for buffering.Now that the Snake Man has arrived at the imperial capital, he can only win, not lose. However, with our new army that has not yet been fully trained, can we win?Although Marquis Wen has a lot of love for me now, I also know that he still won't confide in me.I looked at Deng Canglan, he still didn't change his expression, calm and calm, with a confident look. Marquis Wen must have a perfect plan, and I have made up my mind.Although I am still somewhat wary of Marquis Wen, if he can take such a risk, he must have a plan to defeat the enemy. At this moment, the officers around were whispering to each other, Deng Canglan stood up and said: "Generals, this battle has already decided the survival of the country, everyone knows, Deng will not say more. Go back and prepare immediately." He appointed six general-level officers as the leading generals, and I was also selected.At this time, Xiongguan City had a total of 40,000 people, Deng Canglan led 10,000 people as the main general, and the rest of them each led 5,000 to 10,000 people.Because I originally brought 800 forward battalions, after I came to Xiongguan City, Deng Canlan supplemented me with 5,000 people. It was not until now that I, a general in name only, had brought enough soldiers, and the forward battalion was finally full. Li Yaotian was also a general, but he was Deng Canglan's deputy, so he didn't directly lead the troops. After the meeting ended, I intentionally waited for Li Yaotian.He lowered his head when he walked out of the meeting room, as if he was thinking about something, I called him, and he raised his head to greet me.When I walked out the door, I was about to ask him about the Fuxi and Nuwa clans, when he suddenly asked, "General Chu, is there anyone in the court that Mr. Wenhou has hindered?" He had probably been thinking about it just now.I was taken aback and said, "How can I see that?" "My lord's arrangement is to have a decisive battle with the snake people outside the city. If you win this battle, it will be fine. If you lose, the consequences will be disastrous. If your lord is not trying to use the power of the snake people to subdue the heresy in the court, this is really a bad idea. " He is not familiar with the situation in the court, Deng Canglan probably won't tell him about the second prince, but what he said is not far from the target, I really admire it.I looked around, but fortunately there was no one there, so I whispered: "General Li, that's exactly the case." He breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good. Since my lord dared to take the risk, he had already made arrangements. I was too worried." He smiled and said again: "General Chu, although the new army is not yet unrivaled in elites, it is already extraordinary. Those monsters will suffer a lot this time." I smiled and said, "Naturally. General Li, I hope you will succeed immediately and build Qixun again." He patted me on the shoulder and said lightly: "Everyone, each other." He turned and walked away.Looking at his back, my heart is already settled.Li Yaotian is well versed in the art of war, and since he is so optimistic, it seems that although Marquis Wen took risks in this battle, he did not act recklessly. At this moment, Cao Wendao suddenly came over from one side and said, "General Chu, General Deng ordered our troops to assemble. Everyone is waiting for you." I agreed, and suddenly remembered that I hadn't asked Li Yaotian about Fuxi and Nuwa, but at this time he had already gone far, and he didn't have a chance to ask again.I jumped on the horse and said, "Okay, let's go." I wanted to find time to ask him on the road, but I didn't expect that the 10,000 people led by Deng Canglan were not on the same road as us.There are also a few generals leading the team who are all generals. I asked them, but they didn't know. Wuyun City is only a hundred miles away from Xiongguan City, so if you march quickly, you can get there in a day.And the morale of this new army was very high, we marched overnight, and arrived at the north gate of Wuyun City at dawn the next day.Two or three miles away from the city gate, the scouts in front came to report that they had contacted the city, and Marquis Wen came to greet us in person.When we arrived at the north gate, it was still just dawn, and we could see banners and flags flying from the top of the city in the distance. When our six generals arrived at the city gate, the city gate was already wide open, and a commanding soldier shouted: "All the troops enter the city immediately, and they must not enter the city." Delay." Many of the new army were conscripted from among the citizens of Wuyun City.They have been garrisoned in Xiongguan City for more than half a year, and they probably never came back. When they entered the city, they filed in one file, they walked in a hurry, but they didn't mess up at all.Several of our generals went upstairs to meet Marquis Wen. When we walked up to the city, we saw Marquis Wen standing directly above the city gate and looking down.When we arrived in front of him, we all knelt down and said, "My lord, the final general will be returned to you." Marquis Wen was a bit fat at first, but he had lost a lot of weight after not seeing him for more than a month. His cheekbones were also protruding, and his eyes were bloodshot.When we knelt down, he was still looking at the new army entering the city with a smile on his lips. Hearing our voices, he stretched out his hand to help us up and said, "Everyone, please stand up." We stood up, and officers from the Central Military Commission came over to assign garrison tasks.I heard the officer sign up, but he never reported me. The one who was called agreed and followed them away.Feeling a little strange, Marquis Wen suddenly said, "Chu Xiuhong, follow me." I walked up to him and was about to kneel down when Marquis Wen stopped me and said, "General Chu, what do you think of this new army?" I thought for a while and said, "My lord, although the new army is not proficient in tactics, its morale is extremely strong and its morale is very useful." He nodded and said, "That's right." He lowered his head as if thinking about it, and said, "Your five thousand people will follow me in the future. However, Chu Xiuhong, you will take on important responsibilities if you follow me." I said loudly: "Chu Xiuhong is a soldier, and she should guard the land and defend the country until she dies." He smiled and said, "Sure enough, you have read more books." Before leaving, Marquis Wen asked me to read more books.For more than a month in Xiongguan City, apart from practicing with the whole team every day, I meditated and read books when I had free time. Because I had no other distractions, I was able to calm down and read books, but the mind-reading skills still didn't work. At this time, all the troops had entered, and the city gate was being closed by the city guard. Hearing the noise of the gate, Wen Hou looked outside the city, and said with satisfaction: "The footprints outside the city are not in a mess, and 30,000 people entered the city in just one day." After less than half an hour, the division of Baisheng has already taken shape." The military discipline of the new army has been strict to the point of harshness. Deng Canglan has an easy-going temperament, but his army management is extremely strict, and this batch of new troops are all new recruits, and they obey orders even more.At this time, people from outside the city had already entered, and the grass where they were stationed just now had been trampled flat, and it could be seen that there were neat square formations.I can't help being a little proud, although I haven't been training for a while, I have been working hard for more than a month, and I dare not neglect.In addition, one-fifth of my vanguard battalion is veterans who have experienced many battles. In terms of combat effectiveness, of the 40,000 new troops, the vanguard battalion is probably the most. I didn't dare to say more, Marquis Wen turned around and said, "Chu Xiuhong, come with me." I followed him and got down from the top of the city. Marquis Wen got into a car, and I jumped on my horse and followed him.Marquis Wen walked towards the south gate, and the north gate was still peaceful, but as soon as he passed the imperial city, he could already see the worried expressions on the faces of the city residents on both sides of the street.When they saw Marquis Wen's team approaching, they whispered to each other, probably guessing where I came from with this team of 5,000 people.Beining City, the last barrier of the imperial capital, was breached. In the eyes of the city residents, it must be the responsibility of Marquis Wen, who is fully in charge of the military.The Snake Man was afraid that he would kill Wuyun City soon. Hearing that the Snake Man was powerful in the south of the river, it was distant news to them, but this time, the Snake Man was about to appear in front of them. You can see it, and maybe even touch it. Passing through the busy city, Marquis Wen suddenly opened the curtain of the car and said, "Chu Xiuhong." I added a whip, leaned towards the window and said, "My lord, what are your orders?" "The war will last for a long time, do you have someone you like?" I didn't expect him to ask this question suddenly, and I was startled, and said: "My lord, the national disaster is not over, why do you want to have a family? Chu Xiuhong still dare not think about having a family." "You are twenty-one...no, twenty-two in Chinese New Year, right? It's time to start a family. At this time, getting married early and having children early is also contributing to the country." Marquis Wen seemed to have infinite emotions when he said it, I knew he must have thought of Zhen Yining again.Zhen Yining was nineteen, and it was twenty during the Chinese New Year.He couldn't be wrong about what he said, but I couldn't accept it anyway.I am a human being, not a stallion. Should the child I give birth to contribute to the country, or should the country nurture him and grow up?For the people of the empire, it is time to contribute to the empire, but what about the people of the republic?Is it wrong for them to contribute to the republic? No, none of this is right.I am not contributing to this country, but defending the country for the sake of thousands of people.If the country doesn't even give me a chance to live, then why should I guard the country? Just as he was thinking, Marquis Wen said again: "Wait a minute, you and I will go back to the mansion. There will be a banquet tonight, and both Your Highnesses will attend." I said: "My lord, the last general is a rough man, I'm afraid it will be difficult to enter the elegant hall, what about this..." Hearing that the prince and the second prince are going to attend, I really don't want to participate. Marquis Wen said: "That is to clean up the dust for your armies, and I also want to introduce you to the generals in the army. There must be no mistakes." I didn't dare to say any more, so I agreed.Marquis Wen didn't speak any more, and led me to the south gate.Marquis Wen was in charge of the south gate. Since the snake men were attacking from the north, it must be the main attack on the south gate, which was already full of troops.Marquis Wen took me around and introduced me to some defending generals.Guarding the south gate is the remnant army returned from the northern guard city, with Tu Fang as the leader and Lu Gong as the deputy, a total of 40,000 people.In the military ranks, I saw Pu Anli, dressed in military uniform, he seemed to be the third person after Tu Fang and Lu Gongxing.Although Beining City fell, it was due to obeying Marquis Wen's dispatch, and the loss was not big, so it was not their fault. Both Pu Anli and I have the rank of general, but I am only in charge of the vanguard battalion, but he is Tu Fang's lieutenant general, and his official position is above mine. None of them.It seems that the grievances and grievances between me and him have not been resolved, but have become deeper and deeper.Lu Gongxing was very enthusiastic. When Marquis Wen and Tu Fang went to discuss, he took me around.Lu Gongxing is now an out-and-out famous general, and the walls are properly arranged without any flaws.After he introduced the garrison forces in various places to me, he returned to his garrison, poured me a cup of tea and said, "General Chu, I was really worried about you last time. Safe and sound." He spoke very sincerely, but I knew that he had tricked me last time I was in Dongping City. Although I followed his arrangement, I was afraid that there would be no danger, but I couldn't help feeling a little annoyed when I thought about it.But I didn't show it on my face, I just smiled and said: "Thank you, General Lu, for your concern." He suddenly smiled and said: "General Chu, even though the gold has been buried in the soil for a long time, it will shine one day. General Chu has a bright future, which is really enviable." I also laughed: "General Lu, you really know how to make fun of people." Although I was a little dissatisfied with Lu Gongxing, he was easy-going and generous, and his words made people feel like a spring breeze. Lu Gongxing said: "I am far behind you, you may even attack the Marquis of Wu." I was taken aback, and stammered, "What... what?" I thought that firstly, I didn't have great military exploits, and secondly, I didn't have a very strong backing. Hou is on the same level, no matter how powerful Wenhou is, it is impossible to lift me to be on an equal footing with him.Lu Gongxing asked in surprise, "You still don't know?" "I really don't know. General Lu, don't entertain me, I will be petrified." Lu Gongxing told me that after Marquis Wu died in battle, he had only one daughter, who was seventeen years old this year, and because there was no successor, Marquis Wen suggested that Marquis Wu's daughter should recruit a son-in-law to succeed him. One of the candidates he proposed was me. Hearing this news, I just felt dizzy and didn't know where I was.I was able to be promoted to the rank of General, which is an extraordinary promotion, I never dreamed that such a thing would happen, no wonder Marquis Wen asked me to attend that banquet at night.Seeing me standing there blankly, Lu Gongxing probably thought that I was so happy that he was stupid, so he patted me on the shoulder and said, "General Chu, hehe, if one of the twenty centurions we had in the Qianfeng Battalion back then could be a I think the Junhou will be happy to be the successor to Marquis Wu, he has always regarded you very highly." I felt a bitterness in my heart.Marquis Wu is a peerless general, if I can succeed as Marquis Wu, how much can I do like him? When I got back, I was dizzy.I have never seen what Marquis Wu's daughter looks like. If she really recruited me as her son-in-law, wouldn't I stand side by side with Lord Wenhou?From a small centurion to Marquis Wu in one year, that is probably a rare thing since ancient times. When I arrived at Wenhou's mansion, as soon as I entered the door, Wenhou ordered someone to wash me.There are also many prostitutes in the Marquis Wen’s mansion, I’m afraid they are used to entertain the crown prince. I just walked out of the inner room after I took a shower and wrapped a towel around my lower body. A woman was holding a new battle robe and said with a smile: “General Chu, please Change clothes." I took the shirt and said casually, "Thank you." She smiled faintly, stood aside and looked at me, as if I said "thank you" amused her.I was shirtless, and seeing that she still didn't intend to go out, I was a little embarrassed and said: "Miss..., can you go out for a while? I have to change clothes." She pursed her lips and gave a "chi" smile, and said in a low voice, "General Chu, don't you need me to change your clothes?" I blushed and said: "No, thank you." Probably I was talking incoherently, she smiled again and walked out the door.When she reached the door, she turned her head again and said, "General Chu, my name is Qinghong, please call me if you need anything." I breathed a sigh of relief when she walked out.In Gaojiu City, the last night I spent with Su Wenyue has always been like a wound in my heart, which made me feel pain from time to time. When I saw this woman, I suddenly remembered that heartbreaking night. After getting dressed, I opened the door and was about to go out. Qinghong was standing at the door. Seeing me coming out, she said timidly, "General Chu." I turned my head and said, "What else?" "your hair……" She gestured with her hair. After I took a shower, my hair was also in a random bun, probably very messy.I said, "Forget it, that's it." I was about to leave, but Qinghong grabbed the corner of my clothes and said: "General Chu, let me comb it, otherwise the Lord will punish me." She said it so pitifully, I sighed and said, "Okay, hurry up." Because he wears a helmet all year round, his hair is also rough and dry.Qinghong pulled me to sit in front of the stage, and took off a piece of cloth on the table, revealing a big bronze mirror.It was the first time for me to sit in front of the dressing table, so I couldn't help being a little embarrassed. She untied my bun and combed it for me.Her fingers were slender and soft, and when she massaged my scalp, it was indescribably comfortable.She's probably used to it, and she did it very quickly, and the bun was combed in a neat way, which is much more beautiful than the mess I used to make by myself.When she finished, I smiled and said, "Thank you." She pursed her lips again and said with a smile: "General Chu, don't be so polite, I'm a servant..." I didn't wait for her to finish, and said loudly: "You are not a servant!" She was taken aback and didn't know why I was so excited.I stood up, looked at her and said, "You are the same as me, you are the same person. Not only you and me, but everyone, we are all the same." I don't know why I lost my composure so much, I left her and hurried out.During the Southern Expedition, I heard that the Republican Army declared that all people are created equal. At that time, I knew that this was just empty talk, but I felt that it was not unreasonable in my heart. If Marquis Wu thought the same way at that time, he wouldn't have settled on the cannibalism.I looked at the sky, it was almost dusk, and the west was blood red.Looking from afar, the Jiaotian Pagoda is like a dagger, with a piercing chill. Marquis Wen's banquet will be extremely grand, and there will be an endless stream of servants serving tea and water.Both the prince and the second prince came, the second prince didn't seem to be used to this kind of drunkenness, and frowned from time to time, but the prince was like a fish in water, flirting with the house prostitutes and the courtesans he called from time to time Cursing, it seems that the big wedding two months ago has been a long time ago.He probably has forgotten who I am, when Marquis Wen introduced me to him, he chatted with a courtesan before discussing the way of silk strings with a singing girl. Standing beside Wenhou, I also felt thorns on my back, like sitting on pins and needles, but Wenhou and the prince had a heated conversation, talking about playing, playing, singing and drinking, as if the upcoming battle was forgotten.If someone who didn't know saw Wen Hou at this time, he would think that he was a courtier, and he would be disappointed in this battle.I was standing on the side feeling uncomfortable when suddenly someone shouted, "Wow, General Chu! You're here too!" It was a child's voice, the prince stood up and said, "Little brother, why are you here?" That's the little prince.He is also wearing a new suit, he is one year older now, he will be thirteen this year, and he is much taller, almost as tall as me.He wore a golden crown with hair tied on his head, which was extremely gorgeous, and he bowed to the prince and said: "Brother, my sister insists that I accompany them." The prince smiled and said, "The princess is here too?" He didn't know what the meaning was in his words, he probably felt that it was not easy to have fun with the female relatives here.The little prince said: "Yes. Look, they are here." The people around suddenly fell silent, and two women came down from upstairs.These two women are dressed in the same clothes, are of the same age, and are both beautiful, but one looks very weak, while the other has a heroic look between his brows, like a sharp knife drawn out of its sheath.The two women came to the prince, bowed their heads together and said: "Your Highness, humble ministers are polite." The prince smiled and said: "You two princesses, please do whatever you want." Although this is the mansion of Marquis Wen, he is more like a master.I didn't dare to look too much, I was lowering my eyelids when I heard a woman say: "This must be General Chu Xiuhong?" I stood up straight and saluted, "The last general is Chu Xiuhong." It was the heroic woman who asked the question. The orphan of Marquis Wu.It's just that I don't know why the little prince called her "sister", and if Marquis Wu has two daughters, which husband-in-law will be able to take over the title. Marquis Wen said on the side: "Princess, General Chu is a rising star in the empire, and he is a pillar of talent. This year there are two in twenty." She smiled faintly and said, "I've also heard about General Chu's reputation. Come on, General Chu, I'll toast you." Marquis Wu was good at wine, famous horses, and precious swords all his life, and his daughter is somewhat like him.A woman from the side came over with a tray, and the princess picked up a glass and said, "Please." I was about to get the wine glass, but the woman holding the tray smiled faintly at me. That is light red. There is a flower in front of my eyes.Qinghong doesn't look like Su Wenyue at all, but she still looks like her when she smiles.My hand shook, the wine glass couldn't be held firmly, it fell down, and there was a light red "Oops", and the trays fell to the ground one by one, I stretched out my hand and grabbed the tray, but the one that was very delicate The porcelain cup was smashed to pieces on the ground.I was just realizing that it was a pity, but I heard the princess said in a serious way: "Uncle Zhen, I'm sorry to disturb your banquet." Her voice was so gloomy that I could hardly believe it was coming from a young woman, and I couldn't help being a little shocked.What did she mean by that?我还不曾反应过来，却听得轻红突然发出了一声低低的惊呼，人已倒了下去，胸口插着一柄短刀。 我大吃一惊，再顾不得旁人，一把揽住她的腰，道：“你……”正想骂一句，猛地省得我要是骂她，只怕文侯都不好办了，下面这句话硬生生便吞了回去，耳边却听得郡主淡淡道：“无用下人，血都脏了地面。” 文侯在一边突然拍手笑道：“郡主真是将门虎女，这一刀出手快极，甄叔叔都比不上你了。哈哈，楚休红，你帮郡主将这尸身扔掉吧。” How unreasonable!我只觉心头都有怒火在燃起。如果我手头有刀的话，只怕我当场便会一刀向郡主颈上砍去，也不管是不是立过不杀女子的誓言，我倒要看看她的血能干净到哪里去。文侯只怕也发现我在强压着怒火，拍拍我的背道：“楚休红，快去吧。”他的声音里也隐隐的似有几分歉意。 我抱着轻红的尸体走出门，她的血已将我胸口都染红了。那些达官贵人一个个避之唯恐不及，在他们看来，轻红只是个无足轻重的虫豸罢了，我也未必比她好得有限。 走出门，两个下人过来了，道：“哎呀，轻红出什么事了？” 我把轻红的尸身交给她们道：“她死了。” 一个下人啧啧了两下嘴道：“唐小姐可真看不出她，手可真辣，唉，来了三次，倒杀了两个大人的侍妾，大人都要心疼死了。” 我伸手把轻红的眼合拢，自己眼里却落下泪来。我跟轻红说什么“人人平等”，这真是一句不可笑的笑话了。我现在是下将军，可当初还不是一样被人算计，不论是武侯、文侯、太子，还是陶守拙、周诺，在他们看来，除了他们自己，难道别人都是命如草芥，不值一提么？ 总有一天，我要杀了你！ 我抹去眼里的泪水，伸手到怀里摸着。我的薪资也不算太低，今天正好都带着，我全掏了出来塞给那抬着轻红的下人道：“大哥，你们把她好生埋了吧，弄口棺木。” 那人接过我塞在他手里的钱，有些莫名其妙地道：“大……大人，这可不能收……” 我想说什么，却觉喉咙口一甜，话已说不出来，人一下向前倒去，仆倒在地，便再也不知道了。 等我醒过来时，眼前是一片白茫茫的。一时间我都不明所以，但马上才想起来，这定是文侯府中。我支撑着起来，边上有个女子道：“楚将军，你醒了？” here we go again.我只觉一阵颓唐。这副情景我已经见过几次了，第一次是苏纹月，第二次是秦心玉，这回是第三次。难道这个女子也会象她们一样不得善终么？ 我挣扎着起来，道：“我躺倒几天了？” 一个女子过来扶着我，听我这么说，愕然道：“还不到一个时辰啊。” 我也是一怔，却听得耳边仍传来弦管歌吹之声，想必是文侯的宴会还没完。我苦笑了笑，也说不出话，猛地听得文侯的声音响了起来：“楚将军，你没事吧？” 他一身酒气地走了进来。我连忙跳下地，跪在地上道：“大人，末将无用。” 文侯看了看我，叹道：“你是无用，不过也真象以宁，怪不得郡主也看不上你。” 甄以宁象我么？我倒不觉得。我和他完全是两样的性格，不过甄以宁性情宽厚仁慈，这一点也许与我有些仿佛。当初文侯是想让甄以宁去娶武侯郡主吧，不过以甄以宁这样的性格，绝对难以容忍视人命如草芥的郡主的，而郡主也一定不会喜欢他。我跪下来行了个礼道：“大人，末将无用，有辱厚爱了。” 文侯摇了摇手道：“算了。”他走到窗前，一下推开窗，忽然道：“要下暴雨了。” 仍然传来大厅里的丝竹弦歌之声，天色漆黑一片。这是长夜里最暗的一段时间了，从风中传来的酒气和脂粉香混合在一起，形成了一股中人欲呕的怪味。隐隐的，从云后传来一阵阵雷声，象一个巨人的脚步，正在渐渐逼近。