Chapter 148 Chapter Sixteen

Chapter 16: Self-Casting, Part Five In Wuyin, the first year of Longsheng, on March 24, Qi Wang Li Xian reorganized his army to Anze, and the Northern Han army retreated to Qinyuan. - "Zi Zhi Tong Jian".Yongji III Soaking comfortably in the hot spring, I was squinting my eyes and enjoying the rare leisure time, when suddenly a desolate singing voice came from the shore: "The birds of prey are not flocking, it is true from the previous life; Come on, who is the husband who lives in peace in a different way; bends the heart and suppresses the will, endures the grievances and resists criticism; Vs innocence and dies straight, solidifying the virtues of the former saints." I was so shocked that I almost staggered and fell in the water. Ji Xuan, it's really too much. When I debated the scriptures with him two days ago, he refuted the scriptures completely.But the old man's temper has grown stronger in the past two days, and he just chanted poems and odes there when he had nothing to do. I'm crying, mourning the hardships of the people's livelihood", and "I'm good at what I have in my heart, even though I have died nine times, especially I have no regrets", it is clearly a satire on my betrayal of Chu Touyong.Well, I'll bear it, I won't have to stay with him until I join the army, and I will be careful to avoid him when I send him to the emperor's side in the future.I glared at the old man viciously, I was no longer interested in taking a bath, so I said to Xiao Shunzi on the shore, "Help me up, I need to change my clothes."

Under my influence, Xiao Shunzi is quite familiar with poetry and prose, and he is well aware of Ji Xuan's sarcasm, but I have no choice but to watch from the side. After all, this old gentleman is not The vicious enemy is just a face-saving old man. With Zhao Liang here, this old man would never do anything too extreme, so I feel a little wronged, and Xiao Shunzi is just a joke. Seeing Xiao Shunzi secretly laughing, I could only feel depressed. After going ashore, I put on the clothes that Xiao Shunzi handed over, and while wiping the water drops from my hair with a square towel, I said, "Today is twenty-three On the 1st, the King of Qi should have regrouped. Su Qing went to investigate the military situation. I think it should be possible to join the army in these two days. At that time, let the King of Qi send their masters and apprentices to Zezhou. Out of sight, out of mind, what do you think?"

Xiao Shunzi's eyes flashed, he looked at Ji Xuan who was walking not far away, and Zhao Liang who looked awkward beside Ji Xuan, and said with a sneer, "Master Ji is asking for trouble, Mr. Ji has a stubborn temper, if it is not for the hindrance Zhao Liang is also in our hands, I'm afraid he won't be so polite. If such a person wins the emperor's trust in the future, if this old gentleman speaks so outspokenly, I'm afraid it will damage the reputation of the young master. They just kill it, why bother?" My heart trembled, and I peeked around, seeing that the old and the young couldn't hear Xiao Shunzi's voice, so I said in a low voice: "How can this be done? If I kill them, I'm afraid I will be in the hearts of the Northern Han scholars." As long as I can let them be used by Dayong, I will be wronged a little bit. Besides, this Ji Xuan upholds the belief that "the good will help the world, and the poor will benefit the world". Dissatisfied with Liu Shengli's country, he neither wrote a letter of direct remonstrance nor had a vegetarian meal, but abandoned his official position and retired to seclusion. This shows that he is not a foolish and loyal person. Now he is mocking me, not only to vent his dissatisfaction, but also to test my behavior. If If I care about this matter, it will make him look down on Emperor Yong and his ministers, so I must not care about it."

Xiao Shunzi nodded silently, and did not continue to persuade me to kill people. In fact, Xiao Shunzi may not understand the truth, but he treats me like a father and brother, and he just doesn't want to see people bully me.I secretly smiled bitterly in my heart, there is one more thing I didn't say much, in the hearts of those foolish, loyal and filial scholars, my reputation is probably already rotten, even if I add another Ji Xuan, it doesn't matter. Seeing King Qi's banner from a distance, Su Qing finally breathed a sigh of relief, and immediately stepped forward to the guard at the gate of the camp and said: "The last general Su Qing, under the order of Lord Supervisor, came to meet His Royal Highness King Qi."

The guard recognized Su Qing, and when he heard that Jiang Zhe had sent him, he immediately smiled. King Qi has been busy organizing the army for the past few days. It is well known that His Highness Wang respects the military supervisor, and as long as the military supervisor is safe, King Qi will be delighted, and their life will be much easier.The guard sent someone to report to the commander, and at the same time sent his deputy to lead Su Qing in. Su Qing walked in the camp and watched with his eyes. Although Yong's army was newly defeated, the camp set up by King Qi was strict in law, and there was no despondency in the camp. King Qi was indeed a famous general at that time, Su Qing praised in his heart However, her face was calm and unwavering. This was the first time she formally met King Qi after her identity was leaked, and she still felt uneasy. Harmony, she is well aware of this, although King Qi didn't treat her differently because of Lord Supervisor, but Su Qing was still uneasy.

Walking into the big tent, Su Qing's uneasy mind finally calmed down. Seeing King Qi standing in the tent with hands behind his back and smiling at him, Su Qing felt relieved for some reason. Your lord, the military supervisor is safe and sound, this is a letter from your lord at the end of his life." Li Xian looked at Su Qing, although his face was calm and smiling, but his heart was turbulent. His confidant guards once advised him to leave Su Qing idle, and even imprisoned him, so as not to make the court suspicious of him again, but Li Xian wanted to He refused without thinking, when did he, Li Xian, need to use other people's honor and disgrace to clear his innocence.The existence of Su Qing reminded him of many past events. The intelligent and beautiful Qin Zheng in his youth made him devote himself wholeheartedly for the first time, and Wen Ziyan, who was as indifferent as frost, was the only one he respected in Fengyimen. Li Xian didn't want Su Qing to be treated unfairly.However, Li Xian also knew that his situation was not that good. What he did in the past was enough for Li Zhi to send him to prison without any excuses. If he really had to protect Su Qing, it would definitely do him a lot of damage.

Fortunately, besides himself, there is Jiang Zhe in Zezhou Daying. At the beginning, after Li Xian knew about Su Qing, he was a little worried. Jiang Zhe seemed to hate Fengyimen, and Su Qing was Wen Zi. Disciple Yan is equivalent to the descendant of Fengyi Sect. Whether Jiang Zhe will let Su Qing go, Li Xian is not sure, but unexpectedly, and what he expected is that Jiang Zhe kept Su Qing. Qing, this made Li Xian respect and trust Jiang Zhe even more.Of course, for Li Xian, who is the prince of the clan, if Jiang Zhe's decision is accepted by the court, it will be an obvious message that the court will no longer pursue the crimes of those related to Fengyimen, which will make many people feel An, although he didn't know how Li Zhi would make a decision, Li Xian could feel the significance of it, and he also believed that Li Zhi would make a wise decision.

Hiding his thoughts, Li Xian took the letter in Su Qing's hand, saying it was a letter, but it was actually a white wax pill the size of a longan. Li Xian picked up a piece of tissue paper from the handsome table and wrapped the wax pill in Stopped, then picked up a small paper knife placed on the desk and skilfully scratched the surface of the wax pill. After the wax pill was cut open, a residual green liquid leaked out of the inside, and soon soaked into the tissue paper. Li Xian took out a small There was a circle of honey-colored wax pills, and the green liquid on them was wiped off with tissue paper, and then the honey-colored wax pills were crushed through the tissue paper, and a piece of silk as thin as a cicada's wing was taken out from it. The green liquid stained my hands.Su Qing was fascinated, his eyes were full of doubts, and he couldn't help asking: "Your Highness, what's going on?"

Li Xian didn't raise his head and said: "This is designed by the Marquis of Chu Xiang. The wax pill has two layers inside and outside, and the middle is filled with poison. If someone who doesn't know it just squeezes it with his hands, he can't help but be invaded by the poison and soak the inside." The letter paper, the Marquis of Chu Xiang is a cautious person, presumably this letter is very important, he is worried that someone will snatch the letter halfway." Su Qing's heart trembled, the Marquis of Chu Xiang was really powerful, and he might have tried to send this letter to him. If he wanted to spy on the secrets, he must have been poisoned and died. However, Su Qing was not dissatisfied. Being able to be entrusted with important tasks by Jiang Zhe, this kind of trust is already rare and precious. Su Qing will only admire Jiang Zhe's methods, but will not give birth to resentment.

Li Xian looked at the densely packed writing on the thin silk, frowned for a while, thoughtful for a while, shook his head slightly, sighed, and put the thin silk on the handsome table. In fact, Li Xian was not defeated this time. He didn't take it to heart. Since he joined the army, he has lost several times. He has also dealt with even more tragic defeats. So after the defeat, he was busy preparing soldiers to fight again. Unexpectedly, Jiang Zhe was more than he thought. Going deeper and further, it was clearly a defeat, but he thought of a strategy to take advantage of the defeat. Li Xian's heart was chilled when he saw the picture on this letter. It was no wonder that the second brother was able to win the throne if he could make such a person loyal. Li Xian was really convinced at this moment.

He looked at Su Qing who was waiting for his order with a cold expression, and said with a smile: "General Su, take a day off and go to see the Marquis of Chu Township tomorrow, lead him back to the Chinese army, and tell him that I will definitely do what he entrusted ." Su Qing was at a loss, but she had been in the army for many years, so she naturally knew what it meant to follow orders, so she sternly agreed.Nothing happened overnight, of course Su Qing didn't know that King Qi Babaili rushed to hand over a memorial that night. The next day, Su Qing went on the road alone. According to her idea, in fact, it is better to bring more than a thousand cavalry to pick up Jiang Zhe, but King Qi said that the secret agents of the Northern Han Army had retreated, and this place was already under the control of the Yong Army, so There's no need to be so troublesome, and Jiang Zhe is also protected by tiger and guards, so Jiang Zhe might not be willing to mobilize people like this.Naturally, Su Qing would not have any objections. She had tried the trick with Xiao Shunzi, and she was sure that Xiao Shunzi should be on par with Duan Lingxiao in martial arts. Even if there were assassins left in the Northern Han Dynasty, could it be better than Duan Lingxiao? Su Qing was not worried either, but just to be on the safe side, Su Qing was still cautious along the way, and returned to Jiang Zhe's hiding place after going around a few times. After saying hello to the guards who were on guard outside, she walked into Jiang Zhe's residence, and saw a square table and two wooden chairs in the courtyard, where Jiang Zhe was playing chess with Ji Xuan. Although there was not enough medicine, But Ji Xuan's body gradually improved.He likes to play chess by nature, and he usually dragged Zhao Liang to play chess with him when he was seriously ill, but now he couldn't bear it anymore.In particular, Jiang Zhe's chess skills are not average, and it is often Ji Xuan who makes his four pieces able to defeat Jiang Zhe. Since he can't fight with force, Ji Xuan prefers to attack this younger generation who he dislikes under the chessboard. However, Jiang Zhe was too embarrassed to refuse, so he could only look at the chessboard with a bitter face. After conceding the game, I looked at Ji Xuan's smug old face and muttered a few words unwillingly, but he gave me a cold look, and I immediately started to pack up the chess pieces with a smile, but to be honest, I wasn't annoyed.Although the old man has a strange temper and often embarrasses me, after the initial annoyance, I now like this feeling. For a long time, the people around me either respect me like a god or fear me like a snake. Several close people love me and respect me, but there is only one friend who treats me as an ordinary person.Although this old man always puts on a face, I think he is approachable, and although he doesn't like me, he doesn't have any strong hostility. If it weren't for Xiao Shunzi, he wouldn't have allowed him to stay by my side. The old man is a very good friend, so I was willing to be bullied by him. When Su Qing entered the courtyard, what she saw was such a scene. She couldn't help laughing inwardly, and went forward to report: "My lord, the last general has seen the marshal. The prince said, please return to the camp quickly, and said that everything should be done according to the law." Follow your lord's plan." I smiled slightly, and said: "Mr. Ji, please ask my nephew to help you pack your bags. We will be on our way after lunch." Ji Xuan's hand trembled, the hand that was picking up the chess pieces shook, a chess piece landed on the chessboard, and with a soft sound, his expression became resentful, and he said, "I obey." I know he's upset, but I can't say anything to him at this time, so I gave Zhao Liang, who was standing by the side, a wink, and he stepped forward to help Ji Xuan down, and I said with a smile, "Xiao Shunzi, go and tidy up When packing, remember to bring Mr. Ji Xuan’s solitary copy, the old man promised to lend it to me for a few days. By the way, go tell Hu Yanshou that you are going to leave here.” Xiao Shunzi smiled slightly, and waved to summon two tiger guards to protect me. Just as his figure disappeared behind the wing, I stood up and said, "Let's go for a walk by the lake. It’s a great place, but it’s a pity I won’t have the chance to come here in the future.” A tiger guard said loudly: "My lord, Master Li is not here, it's better to be more careful." I said impatiently: "There are no enemies here, what are you worried about, can't you still protect me, General Su, you have worked hard all the way, go down and rest first." For some reason, Su Qing always had a feeling of uneasiness in her heart, and she subconsciously refused: "My lord, it's better to let the last general accompany you." As soon as she said this, she clearly saw the coldness in Jiang Zhe's eyes. The light flashed, revealing a rather interesting expression. I looked at Su Qing, and I couldn't help wondering if she had guessed something, but it was not appropriate to have her by my side, so I still refused, "No need, General Su, let's go down and rest first." With an orderly tone, he had no choice but to accept the order and retreat. I walked to the side of the hot spring lake and saw that the lake was so clear that it looked like a piece of clear jasper. In this remote village, there is a pool of clear water from a lake of hot springs, which has created this resort of Taoyuan. I can take refuge here after the defeat of the army. This is probably a gift from God. The more I think about it, the more I love this place where I lived for several days. My figure was shattered, and I couldn't help but whispered: "Biquan gushes out half the temperature of the lake, trying to wash away the dust of the world." Just after I uttered a few sentences, I heard someone behind me clapping my hands: "Good poetry, I heard that Hou Shicai of Chu Township is the best." Jue Tianxia, ​​seeing it today really deserves its reputation, such a beautiful day, even if Lord Jiang died here, he should have no regrets!" I smiled slightly and said to myself, "You're finally here." Knowing that the man probably wouldn't attack immediately, I stood up and turned around, only to see that the two tiger leg guards who were following me were standing still , and behind them, a mighty man wearing tiger body guard armor, but whose appearance is very strange, stood with his hands behind his back. It turned out that it was Duan Lingxiao, the eldest son of Duan, who came in person, and Zhe didn't greet him from afar, so it's really rude." At this moment, a figure flickered in the distance, and the guards who noticed that I was in danger were rushing over, and a blue figure was the most It was quick, and it was twenty feet away in a blink of an eye. Just as he was about to move forward, Duan Lingxiao said sharply: "If anyone dares to cross this line, I will kill the Marquis of Chu Xiang immediately." A burst of energy shot out through his body and drew a horizontal line on the ground fifteen feet away. Xiao Shunzi stopped outside the line, his eyes showing a cold murderous intent, but he never crossed the line.At this time, Hu Yanshou and Su Qing had also arrived, behind the horizontal line, they both looked anxious and flustered. But I was calm and smiled and said: "I have heard for a long time that the first disciple of the Demon Sect is very generous. Last time the Eldest Prince killed many generals and soldiers of Dayong, Zhe still remembers it in his heart. Today the Eldest Prince must have come here to take Jiang Zhe's life. " Duan Lingxiao is not in a hurry at the moment, he already knew that no matter what, as long as he kills Jiang Zhe, everyone will be shocked, so he is not in a hurry to get away. It is not difficult to escape with several of my fellow disciples, and he is only one foot away from Jiang Zhe, while the evil shadow with the highest martial arts is fifteen feet away from him. He wanted to stop himself from killing this frail scholar, so he was not in a hurry to do so. After all, he was somewhat curious about this Jiang Zhe. I saw that he didn't make a move for the time being, but my heart was a little relieved. If I fight for a while, I won't have the opportunity to speak so calmly. Looking at the two guards standing stiffly aside, I saw that both of them were full of anger. Sweating profusely, but unable to move, he asked, "Master Duan, why didn't your excellency kill these two guards? Although Zhe was grateful, he also felt a little strange." Duan Lingxiao said with a smile: "I'm not being soft-hearted, but I heard that the Marquis of Chu Township is good at using poison, and he used this to subdue the people of Fengyi Sect in the past, and I wanted to talk to the Marquis, so I left these two people behind. I hope that the Marquis of Chu Xiang can restrain himself and dare not use poison without authorization, so as not to hurt the lives of these two people." With a flash of my eyes, I said, "Master Duan, have you forgotten that they are all my bodyguards, and they stayed by my side only to protect my safety. Blame me, even they themselves, Jiuquanxia will think so." A warm light flashed in the eyes of the two guards, and they seemed to agree with my words very much. Although Duan Lingxiao couldn't see their expressions, he already knew that these two guards were really loyal people just by the changes in their breathing. However, he was not worried at all, and said: "Others might do this, but Duan feels that with Lord Jiang's temperament, he is naturally ruthless towards the enemy, but he is soft-hearted towards his own people. This is what Duan has read all over the place." The conclusions obtained after the information related to Lord Hou, and if it were not the case, I am afraid that Yufei would not be able to escape from Master Hou. Never believe it." I was at a loss for words, although he said that Qiu Yufei's incident was just a coincidence, but thinking about it carefully, I really don't like to kill the people around me, not to mention anything else, if I didn't make the arrangements, I would encounter such a situation today , even if I can apply poison, it is definitely difficult to do so. After all, these two guards are old people who followed me when they were in Hanyuan. Duan Lingxiao saw that my expression changed several times, and knew that what I said was the key to me, so he said unhurriedly: "Master Jiang assisted His Highness King Yong to ascend the throne of God, and then abandoned his power and lived in seclusion in the East China Sea. Duan was very impressed, but it's a pity that Hou After all, I can't let go of the kindness and righteousness of the monarch and his ministers, and let go of my secluded life to help the king of Qi attack me in the Northern Han Dynasty. Although I deeply admire his talent, now I can only meet each other with life and death. Come up with a plan, Duan can let you off once today." I sighed softly and said: "Fame and wealth are nothing but a fleeting moment to me, but Jiang is the most greedy for life and fear of death in his life, if Da Yong cannot rule the world, Jiang will not be able to live and work in peace and contentment in this life, I can only appreciate the kindness of Mr. Duan. But the Eldest Young Master pretends to say this, is he hoping to weaken the fighting spirit of my subordinates, in fact, there is no power to restrain the chicken, and the Eldest Young Master does not need to bother so much." Duan Lingxiao sighed and said: "Master Hou is too worried. Duan just couldn't bear the sadness of my fourth brother. Before he left for Donghai, he sent a letter to me about his friendship with Master Hou. Although he was going to put him to death that day, But I admire Hou Ye very much. I know that Yu Fei is a widow and has few close friends in his life, so I can't bear to hurt Hou Ye's life. However, although the noble army was defeated this time, it is still not hurt, and Hou Ye left at this time The protection of the great army is the only chance for our army to weaken your army. Originally, if Lord Hou was willing to agree to go back to hermitage, Duan wanted to invite Lord Hou to recuperate in Jinyang, but unfortunately my kindness was not accepted by Lord Hou. Now it can only be a matter of life and death See you." Instead of being angry, I laughed. If I had been greedy for life and afraid of death, and agreed to go back to hermitage, Ling Xiao would have asked me to go with him to Jinyang, and even swore not to hurt my life in the name of the head of the Demon Sect. Dayong's supervisory army, the captain's son-in-law, and the Marquis of Chuxiang were really coerced to the capital of the Northern Han Dynasty. How could I have the face to meet Princess Changle and the emperor?This Demon Sect really has a big tone, but unfortunately, although I, Jiang Zhe, am greedy for life and fear death, I am not a person who lives in vain. Back then, I could risk my life to drink the poisoned wine of King Yong. How could I let myself fall into life and death today? From a human point of view, even if I didn't set a net in advance, when Duan Lingxiao surrendered himself, he would never be willing to be captured. I regained my cold and ruthless state of mind, and said, "Master Duan, have you ever wondered why Su Qing came here alone?" Duan Lingxiao's heart trembled, the thin body of the young man in front of him suddenly exuded infinite majesty and murderous aura, which was impressive. While paying attention to the movement around him, he said: "It must be that your army thinks that our army's scouts and secret spies have all retreated. Bar?" I shook my head and said: "That's not the case. Zhe has always been used to throwing stones into trouble, so he can't help but treat a gentleman's belly with the heart of a villain. It is also a pride of Zhe's heart. He expected that your army would definitely take the opportunity to assassinate him. Instead of waiting for your army to assassinate, it is better to lure the snake out of its hole." , I expected that the assassin must be Eldest Young Master Duan, Xiao Tong is not as good at martial arts as Xiao Shunzi, and he is in charge of scouts in the army, so he cannot easily take risks, so it must be Eldest Young Master Duan, but the world is vast and we hide The place is hard to find. If I were the eldest son, I would keep an eye on our army camp, because I must get in touch with the Chinese army. So I sent Su Qing back to report the letter. Firstly, you recognize Su Qing. Invincible is in Anze, so it should be possible to know that Su Qing is by my side. As I expected, the eldest son followed Su Qing here, and I ordered the tiger guards to focus on the periphery. If you want to succeed in the assassination, you must wait for me The guards around me have the fewest chances, so I sent Xiao Shunzi away, and only brought two guards to the lake. Sure enough, as I expected, after changing into the clothes of the guards around me, I went to the lake to try to assassinate him. Do you know if the guards who are restrained by Your Excellency are alive or dead?" Duan Lingxiao felt a chill in his heart. What he had done in the past few days, this Jiang Zhe was as if he saw it with his own eyes. He looked carefully again, but he still didn't realize that there was someone within two feet of him. They are dead, but the tiger guards are really powerful, I shot them myself, and one person almost shouted, but in order to avoid alarming everyone, I only killed three people, I think the Marquis won't be heartbroken." But I really felt a pain in my heart. Although I knew that there would be sacrifices, I still felt guilty, and I couldn't help but hide my face and said: "Forget it, you guys take action."