The morning light turned from dim to bright. General Xiahou walked towards the eastern front with an expressionless face. Gu Xi and a group of personal guards followed him silently. The light from the rising sun shone on his armor, giving off a faint light.
With white luster, it looks like a mighty statue standing in the holy light.
After walking into the temporary Chinese army camp and listening to his subordinate generals report the results of the left-wing cavalry's intrusion into the Yan territory in the morning, Xiahou was silent for a long time, raised his head and said, "Behead three hundred of the Yan prisoners as punishment."
At this time, there was no other person in the tent except him and Gu Xi. Gu Xi looked at him and hesitated, admonishing him: "The general previously decided to conceal the assassination and only sent a secret message to His Majesty. If he was in front of the battle,
Killing prisoners, I’m afraid it will be difficult to hide this matter, not to mention those Yan people will definitely take the initiative to publicize it."
Xiahou said indifferently: "The Yan army came in and harmed the old and weak people of our Tang Dynasty. It burned the villages of our Tang people and killed three hundred prisoners of war. It is right for them. I, the general, do not believe anyone who dares to say anything."
Gu Xi was silent for a moment and said: "But killing prisoners would be unlucky, and Your Majesty... wouldn't like it either."
Xiahou took off his helmet and put it aside. He quietly looked at this loyal subordinate who had been with him for more than twenty years and said: "You should know very well that His Majesty has never liked me very much. I am still alive now.
Because I have established immortal meritorious service for the empire. In the Tang Dynasty, rewards and punishments have always been clear. As long as I can continue to make meritorious deeds and the princes in the court cannot get a handle on me, your majesty will not touch me easily. In this way, your majesty likes this general.
It doesn't matter at all. Besides, if Your Majesty likes me too much, I really don't know how to deal with myself."
This paragraph, especially the last sentence, contained some hidden meanings that only the two of them could understand. After a moment of silence, Gu Xi was about to say something when the horizontal lines embroidered with gold thread somewhere on his cuffs suddenly lit up.
"Go." Xiahou said.
Gu Xi silently bowed his hands and bowed before exiting the tent.
There was no one in the tent, and a self-deprecating smile appeared on Xiahou's face, and he said softly: "I, the general, are so lucky to meet such a merciful king like your majesty. Otherwise, I don't know how many times I would have died. A gentleman can bully him."
, but how can I be kind to His Majesty? It’s just that the King misses the old relationship and the friendship that no one knows, and allows me to live for these more years.”
After a while, Gu Xi raised the curtain and came back, holding a secret letter painted with fire paint in his hand. He walked up to Xia Hou and said softly: "The military talisman sent a message. There has been some unrest in Chang'an these days.
I heard that a murder case occurred in Nancheng, which even alerted the Yulin Army."
Xia Hou said lightly and mockingly: "The princes in the court have deceived Your Majesty into being lenient, and even dared to kill the general's subordinates. I suffered such a big loss at the hands of Chao Xiaoshu a few days ago. Haven't you learned how to behave in front of Your Majesty?"
Be more honest?"
"It really has nothing to do with the princes of the court." Gu Xi shook his head and replied: "The Chun murder case in Nancheng killed a master of the Dongxuan Realm, and that person was a former military official, so he caused these troubles."
Xia Hou's eyes gradually narrowed and he looked at him with squinted eyes and said, "Continue."
"I don't know, General, if you still remember this person. His name is Yan Suqing. He used to be a military document appraiser, but not many people know that he is a great swordsman..."
Speaking of this, Gu Xi glanced at the general with deep meaning and continued: "This person should have been enlightened and learned swordsmanship in Xiling Haotian Temple. After being expelled from the military headquarters due to what happened that year, he has been following him quietly.
A certain tea merchant in Chang'an City was living a miserable life, but he didn't expect that he would die in the end."
The atmosphere in the tent gradually became serious and condensed, and the candlelight in the corner flickered uneasily. After a long period of silence, General Xiahou asked calmly: "Thirteenth year of the Apocalypse... How many years is this already?"
Gu Xi responded softly: "Yu Shi Zhang Yiqi died in a car crash, former General Xuanwei's subordinate Chen Zixian died in Dongcheng, and Yan Suqing, who had his head chopped off, is the third person to die this year."
The folk customs of the Tang Dynasty were simple and ruthless, and Chang'an City had a large population. Although the public security was excellent, if we were to talk about abnormal deaths, there would only be one or two cases every day. The third person mentioned by the two people in the account at this time was naturally not
It refers to the number of abnormal deaths in the thirteen years of Apocalypse, but refers to deaths related to those past events.
"If the Empress had not stopped holding birthday banquets this year and allocated some spare cash to the military, the military would not have thought of visiting veterans to distribute condolences, nor would they have discovered that Chen Zixian, who had long been forgotten, had died suddenly."
Gu Xi looked at Xia Hou and said softly: "Now Yan Suqing has also been beheaded, and the method is very similar. If we can confirm that the so-called accident by Yushi Zhang Yiqi... is also a murderous plot, then we can find out the truth of the matter."
"Not everything has the truth." General Xiahou said indifferently: "Everyone who died in those two cases was dead, who would still remember these things?"
Gu Xi responded: "When fishermen cast down their fishing nets, they always think they can catch them all. But in fact, every time the fishing net comes out of the water, there are always a few fish that slip through the net. According to my notes, there are at least eleven fish in General Xuanwei's mansion."
Live personally."
General Xiahou slowly closed his eyes and said: "The ones who survived were all day laborers. They could not be killed according to the law of the Tang Dynasty. And all the servants and maids who were contracted by the family were all dead. I don't believe those who were closely related to the master's family."
A day laborer who has nothing to do with him dares to harbor hatred towards the imperial court, endure it for many years and still think about revenge."
"We still need to investigate." Gu Xi said worriedly: "At least as mentioned before, someone should be sent to see if there is anything fishy about the death of Yushi Zhang Yiqi. My subordinates don't believe that there are still victims in those two cases.
But I'm worried that this series of killings is a way for some noble person in the palace to cause trouble and establish his authority."
Xia Hou responded calmly: "The princes are still young, and the fourth princess is just a yellow-haired girl. If your Majesty wanted to circumvent the law and deal with me, he would have sent someone to chop off my head ten years ago. Why use these little things?"
tools."
"But there is another nobleman in the palace." Gu Xi took a look at his face and said cautiously.
As expected, when he heard these words, General Xiahou's face suddenly turned cold. He stared at him coldly and said: "Twenty years ago, when you swore a poisonous oath to follow me, I warned you that as long as I am still alive, as long as I am still alive,
Once you have a breath, you cannot mention that noble man in front of anyone, have you forgotten?"
Gu Xi buried his head deeply and apologized sincerely, but a very tired and helpless sigh surged deep in his heart. He thought to himself, General, that you don’t want the world to know about your relationship with that noble person, and that noble person probably doesn’t want to let the world know either.
The world knows that the way you chose is to stay away from Chang'an and remain silent, but who can be sure that the nobleman will not use more extreme and cruel methods? It is said that once you enter the palace, your heart will be as iron as steel...
Xiahou looked at the subordinate who was pleading guilty in front of him, thinking about the loyalty of the other person over the years, and the hard work of ferrying between the two sides of the fast river like him. His face softened slightly, and he said in a deep voice: "But what you said
Yes, we must investigate what is going on in Chang'an City and send a reader back."
After a pause, he added expressionlessly: "Warn the staff that even if something is discovered, they are strictly prohibited from acting on their own. All evidence will be submitted to the Military Ministry and Chang'an Mansion. The investigation is ultimately a matter for the imperial court."
Gu Xi took the order and left.
There was no one in the tent, so Xiahou took off his heavy armor, then sat on the couch, silently looking at the weak candlelight that was about to be swallowed up by the skylight outside the tent, as motionless as a statue.
His face was slightly pale. He had killed two strong cultivators with a thunderous shout. The scene was so powerful and powerful, but no one knew that his body still had some damage after all.
As a strong man at the pinnacle of martial arts in the world, his combat prowess is unparalleled. With just a thought, the rich vitality of heaven and earth condenses on the surface of the body and penetrates the inside and outside. The power of thought cannot hurt, and the flying sword cannot break. In fact, if you want to kill the two people from
As a practicing assassin in the Yan Kingdom, he can choose a simpler, non-damaging way to deal with it.
But he is the Xiahou General who is known for his cruelty, cold-bloodedness and tyranny. He has too many powerful enemies in the world. He wants to maintain his invincible image in front of his enemies and subordinates, so he must choose the most arrogant and powerful response method. To do this
He doesn't even hesitate to harm his body and mind.
If you don't want to be bothered by the constant stream of assassinations, you need to show your thunderous methods and forcibly suppress the desire to fight of most of the enemies. This is probably the helplessness of many peerless strong men.
The curtain was raised, and a waiter came in carrying a bowl of carefully prepared bird's nest, golden dates and large tonic porridge. The waiter looked handsome, and the porcelain bowl on the plate was exquisite and beautiful, making it look extraordinary.
General Xiahou coldly took the bowl of porridge and drank it down in one gulp, waving for the boy to leave.
He knew that the jealous and envious princes in Chang'an City had been secretly rumoring that General Xiahou liked a handsome young man and had a different interest in bed matters. He ignored such rumors and was not angry at all, because no matter what
Both His Majesty and those who are really afraid of him, they all know one fact: since he cooked and killed the concubine he loved most, he has never been close to a woman, and he is not willing to use any maid to serve him personally.
When he cooked and killed the concubine, it was at a time when the imperial censor was under attack and the general's status was in turmoil. Those who thought they knew the inside story thought he was using an excuse to spy on military aircraft and use cruel methods to kill his favorite concubine.
, to frighten a certain eunuch who was ordered to go to the military camp for questioning.
However, only Xiahou himself knew that the great eunuch who came to ask questions at that time had nothing to do with the memorials of the imperial censors, and what he was afraid of had nothing to do with those censors who were powerless.
It was a summer, the nights were short and the days were long, and the light spread by Haotian was not only warm but also blazing. A stern letter of inquiry from the Xiling Divine Kingdom was delivered directly to the Chang'an Palace, and even that unknown place expressed serious concern
, and in the vast Min Mountains not far from the military camp, countless sword lights can be vaguely seen.
"Shuang'er, you shouldn't have danced that devilish dance that day."
Xia Hou stared at the porridge water that was gradually freezing between his fingers, thinking that if it were still the same year, the gentle woman he loved most would definitely find out at the first time, and then he smiled and took out his handkerchief to wipe it off for himself. He couldn't help but
He shook his head and repeated expressionlessly: "You really shouldn't dance that dance, even though that dance and you when dancing... are really beautiful."