From the moment Lei Yuan's troops appeared, the entire battle was over.
The noisy battlefield almost instantly became quiet, and only a few people were still resisting with swords. Their resistance was shattered quickly in front of the infantry and cavalry that rushed in like raging waves, like foam at the tip of the wave.
Lei Yuan narrowed his eyes and watched Chen Lan being dragged not far ahead by Fan Hong and other guards, and slashed his head with a knife.
The leaders of Chen Lan's subordinates were beheaded together, warriors, and nearly a hundred confidants. These people all struggled, begged, scolded, and cried, but in the end they could not avoid the fate of being in different places.
So many people were beheaded at the same time, and the strong bloody smell and the stench of incontinence of the corpse were mixed together and rushed up. If it had been a few days ago, Lei Yuan would have subconsciously avoided this situation, but today he only frowned slightly and rode forward from the two rows of heads as usual.
Perhaps he is still not the kind of real warrior who can live freely among the corpses and regard death as casually, but what can this scene in front of him be? These hideous and terrifying heads are like lined up to welcome him, just rightly reflecting the majesty of the next sect leader of the Lujiang Lei family.
He gently took the horse and stopped in front of Chen Lan's head.
Compared with his companions, Chen Lan's expression was very calm at this moment. This great hero in the mountains neither struggled nor had any extra words when he died.
Throughout the journey, the miserable scenes of the people and the tribes attacking and killing each other and killing each other made Lei Yuan full of anger. However, after Chen Lan's head was cut off, Lei Yuan was not much angry. He just felt it was ridiculous.
When Lei Yuan and his subordinates were dying on the front line, when the soldiers hoped to exchange their own death for their family safety, some people did not hesitate to destroy the results of their soldiers' struggles in order to gain personal gain, and did not hesitate to pay the lives of the people who followed them. Why are there such people? Why do they have to be such people?
He clamped his legs and continued to move forward. After walking a few steps, he couldn't help but sigh: "Chen Lan... was the general under Yuan Gonglu's command, with a high position and a powerful position. At that time, Yuan Gonglu's power spanned three prefectures and eleven counties and states, and he had the chance to seize the world. Chen Lan was a hero of the founding country. At that time, his father was just a general with little qualifications under his cousin Lei Bo, and he wanted to pay a visit to Chen Lan."
The sudden appearance of memory in my mind made Lei Yuan feel a little uncomfortable. He paused and continued, "...I was young at that time and I had been worshiping several times. I didn't dare to raise my head. I only heard the sound of riding hundreds of horses and galloping. It was so majestic."
Zhao Yun nodded and said nothing. He could feel that Lei Yuan only needed an audience.
"...But the Zhong regime did not last long and soon collapsed. Chen Lan became more and more depressed, from the general who commanded the troops, to the leader of the local tyrants, and to the result now... In fact, he has not changed himself, and what he has tried his best to seek has never changed. However, this path is not right at all."
There are many people walking this path.
A hero like Cao Gong inhumanely massacred the people to release their own tyranny, while driving the people to settle like slaves and exploit them. A rich man like Chen Lan relies on the work of the people to maintain his luxurious life, and wants to use their lives to grab more for himself. Whether it is a big man like Cao Gong or a small man like Chen Lan, what they think is only themselves, and has little to do with the people.
They either succeed or fail, they are all peers on this road, but Lei Yuan just feels that their path is wrong.
Lei Yuan continued to ride his horse forward.
As he advanced, there were constantly escorts with distinctive armors holding spears and halberds, standing solemnly on both sides of the road. A little farther away from Lei Yuan's sight, whether they were the soldiers of Chen Lan's troops, the soldiers of Lei Xu's camp, or the soldiers who were quickly joined by Lei Yuan within a few days, they all knelt on one knee to salute, and their momentum was like wind and grass silence.
"I think, in Chen Lan's own opinion, he just has no luck. After all, in such an environment, if you don't fight, you will only become more and more depressed; if you fight, you can try your luck and maybe you will succeed, so he will rashly launch a rebellion. But..."
Lei Yuan looked at Zhao Yun: "Like General Zhao, although he was in a chaotic world, he could meet a wise lord, entrusted his heart and fulfilled the responsibility of all the people. However, no one could rely on these people, led by Chen Lan, to surrender and surrender. He wanted to gain some strength, but was deceived by greed, and the last one was different from his head... The difference between them had nothing to do with luck. In the final analysis, not everyone had luck, but the road was chosen by himself."
As Lei Yuan rode his horse forward, Guo Jing, He Song, Deng Tong, Ding Feng and other powerful Qu Chang naturally followed behind him and slowly moved forward. Fan Hong held Chen Lan's head and chased after Li Zhen excitedly, trying to report forward, but Guo Jing waved his hand repeatedly, so he retreated unwillingly to the back row.
The only one who always stood side by side with Lei Yuan was Zhao Yun.
Zhao Yun thought of the instructions of his lord and Mr. Kong Ming when he set out. According to their judgment, only Lei Xu, Lei Xiu, and his son could use it for me. Therefore, everything was to win over or intimidate the father and son. Unless an unexpected situation occurred, other candidates should be considered. The so-called "other candidates" included Chen Lan, Mei Qian, and even Xin Bin.
But as soon as Zhao Yun arrived at the Leigujian Pass, he heard that Lei Yuan took Mei Qian's life and annexed his troops. A young man without any foundation killed Mei Qian, the third person in Haoyou in Huainan without any hesitation... This strong sense of competition immediately shocked Zhao Yun.
Today's situation is covered with so many heads, which makes Zhao Yun understand that Liu Yuzhou has no other choice. Zhao Yun couldn't help but smile bitterly. Even in the face of Liu Yuzhou's power, Lei Yuan did not wince. He did not give in at all.
Thinking of this, he suddenly asked, "Xuzhi, you just said that like Chen Lan and others, the things you are trying to seek have never changed... I can probably understand what you mean. So what are you? Xuzhi, what exactly are you seeking? What is the path you want to take?"
Lei Yuan was slightly stunned and looked at Zhao Yun sideways.
Zhao Yun looked back with a smile.
Lei Yuan remained silent.
Lei Yuan remembered his childhood experience in this life, thought of the caution and helplessness of trying his best to protect himself, the anger and sorrow of witnessing the Qianshou people being swallowed by the wild wolf in troubled times; he also remembered the complicated life of his previous life, thought of the life that was finally trapped in mediocrity, and thought of the little hope that he wandered in despair.
But, what is my path?
After coming to this world, Lei Yuan thought of seeking to surrender to Cao Gong as a stable civil servant; he thought of seeking refuge in Liu Yuzhou and meeting the people he loved; he even thought of joining Wu Hou, finding opportunities to go out to sea with Wei Wen, and then establishing a new regime that can enjoy itself... But those are just means to settle down, and they are not the final path he wants to take.
Lei Yuan fell into deep thought, and Zhao Yun did not urge him.
It was not until the two of them pulled over the tent that Lei Yuan suddenly woke up.
"Little Langjun." Xin Bin came forward with several managers and saluted deeply: "The Sect Master is sober at this moment, please come in."
The sect leader could no longer remain sober. This secret was hidden by Xin Bin for four or five days, but in the end he could not hide it from others. There is no need to hide it anymore.
Lei Yuan nodded apologetically to Zhao Yun. Zhao Yun got off the horse and stretched out his body: "I'm waiting here to not disturb the patient. Please give me a request, don't mind."
Lei Yuan opened the tent and entered the dark tent.
There was no one else in the tent. Perhaps Xin Bin sent them all away, leaving room for the father and son to speak intimately.
The father and son who have never met many times in the past year have met for the third time recently. Lei Xu still sat in the thick bed with a pale yellow face without a trace of blood. He opened his mouth, leaned his neck back, and gasped hard; his arms exposed outside the quilt were thinner than what Lei Yuan saw a few days ago. His loose skin was covered with veins, and he was suspended down, as if he had no elasticity.
Seeing Lei Yuan come in, Lei Xu stretched out his hand. Lei Yuan hesitated for a moment, stepped forward, holding Lei Xu's thin palm between his hands. He saw that Lei Xu's lips were completely dry and cracked, and the large gray-white lips bulged. He was a little angry and realized that when the battle was fierce just now, no one could care about this. He quickly took a basin from the edge of the couch, took a clean cloth, and after wet it, he pressed Lei Xu's lips bit by bit, allowing the moisture to slowly penetrate into Lei Xu's mouth.
He did this slowly, over and over again, until Lei Xu's lips were less thirsty.
He saw Lei Xu's heels resting directly on the wooden board on the couch... Because Lei Xu grew up, the servants hugged the bedding behind him and didn't care about his heels. Lei Yuan sighed, got up and walked around the tent, found a soft and thick fur cushion, and stuffed it to Lei Xu's feet.
"When I was very young, you took me out for hunting and playing. Once, we were in high spirits and camping outside. You told me by the bonfire that when you sleep, you especially don't like hard things behind your heels. You must put something on so that you can sleep peacefully. I said, too."
Speaking of this, Lei Yuan felt that his eyes were a little wet. The resentment and hostility that were in memory had disappeared at this time; replaced by things that could not be destroyed in nature. Did Lei Yuan in his previous life have the memory of this life, or was the opposite? Lei Yuan couldn't explain it clearly. Perhaps Lei Yuan had no Lei Yuan in two lives, they were the same person.
The sudden emotion burst out from the deepest part of his soul, causing him to hold Lei Xu's palm again and whisper: "The back of his heels should be softer, I remember it, I remember it."
Lei Xu's cold palm suddenly moved and patted Lei Yuan's hand.
Lei Yuan put his ear close to Lei Xu's mouth and heard him say in an extremely subtle voice: "Put the people of the people as soon as possible, don't disperse. There are many tigers and leopards in the mountains... Go!"
Lei Yuan felt a sense of sadness. He stood up and saluted respectfully: "Yes."
Lei Xu naturally knew that his important ally Chen Lan was in trouble and tried to overthrow his position; he also knew that his eldest son Lei Xiu died in battle... This was a major blow to this terminally ill person. But when he explained his second son, the first thing he thought of was the safety of the people in the army. Lei Yuan could feel Lei Xu's sincerity, which was indeed Lei Xu's heartfelt command, without adulteration or decorating.
People like Cao Gong, Liu Yuzhou, and Wu Hou are heroes who use the world as chessboard and countless heroes as chess pieces. Lei Xu is far inferior to them, and he is even less qualified to compare with them. His vision and ability are limited after all. But he did not build his glory and wealth on the bones of the people, and he tried his best to do something for the people, which is enough. Although he is just the leader of the rich in the countryside, in Lei Yuan's opinion, he is much nobler than some big figures.
Lei Yuan took a deep breath and exhale deeply. He lifted the heavy curtain and walked back to the gradually brighter sky.
All the struggles in this troubled world, whether they think about people's hearts, those meticulous plans, the cold games of thrills, or those cruel and ruthless fights, are just means. Lei Yuan wants to gather enough power through these means to protect himself and those around him.
But the path he wants to take is not just that.
The road he wants to take will be wider and longer; he wants to move forward with like-minded partners, protect more people, and bring a better future to more people.
Chapter completed!