Chapter 42 Section VII

October of the fifth year of Emperor Yincheng, late autumn. Donglu, Huai City in the south of Tang Dynasty.This is one of the best seasons in Nanhuai. The famous autumn roses of Donglu are in full bloom by the Ziliang River. After the frost in the morning, the autumn roses are either graceful or strong red and wrapped in white frost. From a distance, it seems that the artist accidentally splashed the most beautiful red dyes on the frosty white canvas and slowly blended together.This kind of beauty makes people ponder. In this season, literati in the Tang Dynasty hired shuttle boats, warmed a pot of wine before dawn, and drifted down the Ziliang River. The boat floated over the Ziliang Bridge. With his hand, the boatman opened the curtain, and he saw that on the river beach, in the mist, the colors of flowers and frost blend together with ice and fire.

In previous seasons, the ministers in Nanhuai City could never find Xi Yan, and those who were familiar with Xi Yan would tell them that General Xi had gone to the river by boat.Often throughout the day, he would float on the water with a jug of wine and a piano, lazily looking into the distance, and chatting with the boatman in a leisurely manner.If there is really any important matter in the Zihuan Palace, the courtiers can only run to the Ziliang River and trot with the horse all the way, shouting: "The Lord urgently summons the general to enter the palace... The Lord urgently summons the general to enter the palace to have an audience ..."

Among the shuttle boats on the river, maybe one will berth quietly, and Xi Yan, who is dressed in a loose robe and holds a sword, comes ashore with a slight smell of alcohol. Thinking of these old events, Xi Yan laughed silently, looked up at the floating clouds flowing outside the skylight, and listened to the sound of water dripping from the roof.There was a light rain last night, and the roof leaked when he got up in the morning. It has been like this since he moved here, and no one has repaired it.Xi Yan sometimes thinks this is the deep prison in Nanhuai City?What kind of criminal can be held in this deep prison that may collapse at any time?

But at least you can hold him.He has lived in the "Pancheng Prison" in Nanhuai for almost half a year. This dark and threatening prison cell looks like it will collapse from time to time, but it never fails.This is a bit like his case. It is said that he is the number one criminal here. His case needs to be tried by the royal family’s Yushitai. He didn't even see the shadow, and even the jailers became a little impatient with the former high-ranking and powerful noble general. The implication was that early trial would be good, and the head would be cut off. There was the harsh sound of chains twitching at the end of the aisle, and the outer cell door was pulled open.In the glare of the sun, a black figure walked slowly along the aisle, wearing a thick and heavy cloak that was almost pure black, with heavy footsteps, as if he was wearing heavy cowhide boots.Xi Yan was familiar with the sound of the heavy boots, they were military standard boots, and it was undoubtedly a soldier who came.

The man stood in front of Xi Yan's cell, separated by two iron bars.He was followed by a nodding jailer. "Master Imperial Envoy, this is Xi Yan, the guilty minister. Don't underestimate him. Before he was imprisoned, he was one of the top figures in Nanhuai City. Now he is a dog in the water." The jailer pointed his fingers into the cell. "Hush," the imperial envoy raised a finger to press his lips, "needless to say." "Xi Yan, get up, this is the Imperial Envoy of the Habayashi Heavenly Army, Your Majesty. The Imperial Envoy asked you something! Don't be lazy." The jailer kicked the iron bars.

"Okay, I want to ask a question alone." The imperial envoy waved his hand. The jailer retreated knowingly, and locked the cell door from the outside, leaving only Xi Yan and the imperial envoy in the deep cell.The imperial envoy looked up at the skylight, the only light in the cell, and sighed lowly: "There is a damp smell here, and only one skylight is bright, you can bear to live here for half a year. I have to admire the general's patience when I was in the middle of the night." "Isn't it good for a criminal minister to pick and choose the cell?" Xi Yan lazily got up and approached the iron fence, "But this place is crumbling, I am really worried that before the apocalypse seven censors came to interrogate me, which rainy night The house collapsed, and I was directly crushed to death inside."

"They should put you in triple iron handcuffs and put you in a deep prison ten feet underground. A huge stone of several thousand catties should be placed on the top to seal the prison door, leaving only a small mouth for feeding. If you want to lock General Yu Dianyu, that's enough. Make some sense." There was a smile in the imperial envoy's words, he took off the hood on his head, revealing a heroic face, but it was a little lazy, but a little restful.He was wearing the standard armor of the Royal Habayashi Heavenly Army, and on the collar of his cloak was the Fire Rose military emblem that could only be worn by the royal army.

"Why are you here at this time? You are serving in the Yubayashi Tianjun, leaving the station and running to Nanhuai, the risk is too great." "I'm on official business this time. I have a letter jointly signed by the seven censors of Tianqi, and I asked Baili Jinghong to transfer the file of the general. Do you think I'm a fake imperial envoy?" Xi Yan opened it to see that there were a few pieces of newly made crispy Hezhai snacks, such as duck oil crispy cakes, cherry pancakes, bamboo shoots and fried beef dumplings, and they were still steaming.The imperial envoy took out a tin bottle from under the cloak covering his whole body, uncorked it, and the rich aroma of wine overflowed.The imperial envoy took out a small cupronickel box from under the cloak, which contained some crispy fried peanuts... No one knew where he hid these things on his body, so he just took them out one by one, and there were seven or eight things in a while The exquisite food was delivered to Xi Yan's cell.

The imperial envoy patted his body: "No more." Xi Yan chewed a piece of fried peanuts, and smiled: "Habayashi Tianjun's cloak has so many uses." "I just want it to be spacious." The imperial envoy said, "Don't pick and choose, general. I only arrived at Nanhuai in the morning, and I bought them at the morning market non-stop. After eating, I will have to live on prison food for a long time." "Don't pick and choose, Xie Gui, you are familiar with my appetite," Xi Yan took a sip from a tin bottle, "Are you proud of being in the Yulin Tianjun? You were actually entrusted with the important task of an imperial envoy."

Xie Gui shook his head: "It may not be so happy, I bought this vacancy with money. I came to see you." Xi Yan's hand holding the tin bottle paused for a moment: "What's so urgent?" "According to the general's order, all the people sent out have information. As we guessed, the most favored person around Yilin is a man from the East China named Hua Bihai, and someone said that last summer, a brigade I bought a lot of Yebei horses in Basong City in northern Shanxi. It is said that they are going to the northern part of Hanzhou. The head of the brigade is an old man who often wears black robes and is called a "teacher" by a group of young people. surrounded."

Xi Yan nodded slightly, and there was a sharp light in his squinted eyes: "Shan Bikong, he used to be the national teacher of Emperor Xi, and no one has seen him since he was envoy to the Qingyang Department. Chenyue is almost out this time." , Lei Bicheng, Shan Bikong, and Hua Bihai should all be dean-level figures." "I can't wait. I don't know why. It seems that they are also under a lot of pressure. Otherwise, the three masters will not be dispatched at once. Compared with this operation, Shangyang Pass is just a military training. If Hanzhou is Shuobei wins, Ningzhou is won by the Yi clan, Chenyue is equivalent to controlling half of the North Land, then they will definitely instigate the Barbarian and Yu Clan to march to the East Land." "Ying Tianzhan should have already landed in Ningzhou. Although he is the only one, he still has the support of some members of the Stark family of the Yi family, and he also brings Yuran, who is the princess, with him. He should be able to stop Hua Bihai's plot. .” "I also believe that Ningzhou is not our weakness in the short term. From our information, Yi Lin is not a seasoned strategist. It is not easy for him to win the support of the Yu Clan city-states. Moreover, his opponent is the Sky Warrior, His great-uncle." Xi Yan pondered for a while: "The biggest problem is still in Hanzhou. Lou Yan is a terrible leader. As long as he breaks through the northern capital, Hanzhou will no longer have a pass that can stop him. He can go south at any time. It's time to cross the Tiantuo Strait and approach the city of Bizhi in Chunguo." "Currently Chun Kingdom can't stop Shuobei Wolf Lord, right?" "If the soldiers of the six tribes of the barbarians go south, Chun Kingdom alone will definitely not be able to stop them. Hua Ye, the ugly tiger, only has 30,000 wind tigers in his hands, and every man in the barbarians is a cavalry soldier. He can mobilize ten times as many troops as Hua Ye." Xie Gui was silent, although the inference he made before coming here was no different from Xi Yan's now, but he still felt chilling when he heard Xi Yan say such a disparity in strength.After the Battle of Shangyang Pass, the Tianqi Warriors had not had time to recuperate and plan their strategies in the future, and the enemies hiding in the dark had already launched a new round of attack.The tide of attack, there is no respite. "How is Ying Wuyi doing?" Xi Yan asked calmly while drinking. "Ying Wuyi quickly replenished the troops from the Nanman tribe. Now the Red Army Thunder Cavalry has returned to the state before the Battle of Shangyang Pass, but the training is still lacking. Bai Yi has lost control of the Chu guards. At this time If Ying Wuyi attacked Chu Wei's defense on the front line of Qingyi River, Qingjiang, the capital of Chu Wei Kingdom, would be in crisis. For this reason, Chu Wei reinforced the defense line of Qingyi River with two legions, and built 25 guards along the river. City, smoke during the day and light fire at night as an order to respond to each other. However, this may not be able to stop Ying Wuyi's thunder cavalry. With the opportunity of landing on the west bank of the river, the five thousand thunder cavalry will cross the defense line of the Acropolis and directly attack the interior of Chuwei. No one can catch up with the thunder cavalry. His attack on Chuwei will be as helpless as the northern barbarians attacked Tianqi before the Fengyan Dynasty defense." "That's right, without Bai Yi, the Chuwei Mountain formation would collapse at the first touch. It is a soldier trained by Bai Yi himself, and no one else can bring it along." "But Ying Wuyi didn't show any signs of attacking. The two regiments of the Red Brigade, with a total of 20,000 people, have made all preparations for the war, but they have been stationed in Canglan and can't tell." "Ying Wuyi is watching, and what he wants to see is the battle situation in Hanzhou. Of course he can sense the threat of Lou Yan, and he also knows that if Lou Yan becomes the maharajah in the northern capital, relying solely on the Chun Kingdom will not be able to stop it." His. If the barbarians join the battle in the Eastern Land, it will be bad for Ying Wuyi. That man is determined to unify the Eastern Land and make the four prefectures and sixteen kingdoms of Dayin become aliens, and he will not allow the barbarians to touch his land." "So the general's judgment is that if the barbarians really go south, Ying Wuyi will in turn assist the royal family and fight against the barbarians?" Xie Gui raised his eyebrows. "He may not be able to assist the royal family, but he will definitely be one of the most terrifying enemies that Lou Yan encountered in the Eastern Land. The lion in the extreme south of the Eastern Land and the wolf in the extreme north of Hanzhou, they will never Allow the other party to live in their own territory." Xi Yan smiled, "I think I can guess the mind of Ying Wuyi." "Does the general have any plans?" Xie Gui asked. Xi Yan pondered for a moment: "Continue to collect information. With the strength we have gathered now, there is no chance of winning a frontal battle with Chenyue. Chenyue's coming is very strong, but there are still many obstacles to realize their strategy. Yishi and Chenyue Whether Shuobei can grow or not is the key to their victory. In addition, send a letter to Gu Yueyi immediately, asking him to persuade Hou Lei Qianye of Jinbei to strengthen his armaments to prevent the Yuren from raiding the coast." "Although he was called for the first time... but Gu Yueyi is not a member of us, will he accept our assignment?" Xie Gui hesitated, "There are too many things he doesn't understand." "Yes, he was an official in northern Jin. It is his duty as a warrior to protect the land and the people of northern Jin." Xi Yan said, "And Gu Yueyi, I can also guess his mind." Xie Gui thought for a while, then smiled: "It is said that the general is as cunning as a fox, who can guess so many people's minds, so can he guess my mind?" Xi Yan glanced at him: "You drink too much, your mind is muddled, like a puddle of mud, I can't figure it out." Xie Gui chuckled, reached into the iron bar and grabbed the tin bottle, took a swig.He is a person who drinks alcohol like his life and drinks like water, if it is not because he wants to save some money for Xiyan, he will never sit by and watch people drink. "Can the northern capital be defended?" Xie Gui wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "With Qingyang's military strength, it's actually still higher than Shuobei. But Lu Song's new funeral, he is the only person in the northern capital who can command the major families. I am a little worried that the new Great Lord Lu Shouyu is too weak. But the Qingyang tribe still There are famous warriors such as Lu Baoyin, Liu Hai, Tie Jin, and Tie Yi. The young archery warrior who appeared in the northern capital last time claimed to be not flamboyant, and it seems that he is not a weak character. If I guessed correctly, It is the leader of the ghost bow warrior who directly serves the majesty. With this group of people, there must be a chance to fight in the northern capital." Xi Yan's eyes lit up slightly, "Besides, it's not like we don't have no manpower in the northern capital." "Oh?" Xie Gui raised his eyebrows. "I have a student, you have met him before, his name is Lu Guichen." Xi Yan smiled. Xie Gui was stunned for a moment, and then laughed loudly: "Sure enough, the general had the foresight to place heavy troops in the northern capital. If Chenyue knew that we sent a suzerain of the Tianqi warrior group to the northern capital, Cangyun Gutoojian Master, they must have retreated a thousand miles away, right?" "I don't know whether to smile or smile bitterly," Xi Yan sighed, "The sacred object of Tianqi, the Xiqiergen Duragon, which is also feared by Chenyue believers, is owned by a seventeen-year-old child." "All children will grow up." Xie Gui said flatly, "I was also a child when I first met the general." Xi Yan had already emptied the wine and snacks in the tin bottle, Xie Gui reached in, took out the utensils one by one, and hid them back in the cloak.After hiding it, it can't be seen from the outside at all. With Xie Gui's handsome and stern face, no one would guess that this noble imperial envoy of the imperial capital hid so many odds and ends on his military uniform.Xie Gui also jumped to make sure that there would be no strange noises when walking. Xi Yan stretched in satisfaction, and leaned comfortably against the cell wall. "I'm leaving, and there is one last thing, which is also my mission to come to Nanhuai this time." Xie Gui said. "About my case?" Xi Yan nodded slightly. "Yes, the seven royal censors of the Apocalypse have already started to work on the general's case. The crime they initially proposed for you is the treason of adultery with barbarians, and you should be executed." Xie Gui looked around, "This prison cell that looks like it will collapse at any time, you Can I get out of here alive?" Xi Yan was silent for a while: "Xie Gui, did I ever tell you that I was a bandit?" "I have an impression, but when the general talks about these things, he is always secretive, making it hard to tell whether it is true or not." "I suddenly remembered that when I was a bandit, I was dressed in rags, a pair of hemp shoes, and a sword. I drank too much bad wine from the village and lay on the hillside looking at the blue sky and the terraced fields beyond the valley. There is a clear pond in the valley, and a mountain village is surrounded by a few thatched huts, and the smoke slowly rises at dusk." Xi Yan said casually, "It's beautiful, it makes people miss, just looking at it makes me miss Fall asleep like this." Xie Gui listened quietly without speaking. "Xie Gui, what should bandits do?" Xi Yan suddenly turned to look at Xie Gui. "A bandit is considered a big thief, and according to the imperial court's criminal law, he should be executed by beheading." Xi Yan smiled, raised her head and let out a long sigh of relief: "Anyway, my life has always been cut according to the law. Now I look at the skylight every day. The shadow of the sun rises from the east to the west, and the color of the sky keeps changing. The clouds flowed slowly, and sometimes a pigeon would rest there, cooing... just looking at it, I still want to fall asleep like this.” Xie Gui thought silently for a while, crooked his mouth, and smiled: "Then the general should have a good sleep, I, an imperial envoy, have to pay a visit to Tang Guozhu." Before the sound of Xie Gui's footsteps disappeared at the end of the corridor, Xi Yan had already closed his eyes, as if he had fallen asleep.