Star Trace Gate

In the military tent where Daqian camped.

"brush."

A piece of letter paper fluttered and fell on the table under the reflection of candlelight.

Han Chan sat upright, an indescribable "death" on his handsome face, like an old man who was about to die and had run out of energy.

I entered officialdom at a young age, experienced three ups and downs, and now I am middle-aged.

He planned the border in Shangyu because he was unwilling to accept that his ideals had not been realized; he also wanted to restore the glory of the Yulin Party to repay the kindness of his mentor.

He asked himself if he could be considered a free and easy person...

At dusk that day, Han Chan stood on the top of Shangyu County and made up her mind to join the game.

At that time, he told himself that even if he lost, he had to be able to afford to lose and to afford to die.

All the sins and blame in the world are on you alone.

If you lose, you will be torn into pieces.

What is there to fear for a counselor?

but!

When the game came to the last moment and the outcome appeared on the chessboard, he found that he could not accept this result at all.

It's not that he's afraid of death...but when the last piece fell, all the pride, ideals, and persistence in his heart were crushed by that one piece.

He suddenly realized that he was not the master planner or the chess player, but a puppet chess piece being manipulated by others.

The role change between chess player and chess piece shattered Han Chan's self-esteem.

Even now, he still didn't know who the person was who used him as a pawn, and what his purpose was...

For a scholar or a counselor, this is more painful than death.

Han Chan lowered her head, staring at the table, and shook her head, "...Haha, hahaha... Token of the Planner, what an ironic three words! I was defeated miserably... miserably!"

There were fourteen letters on the table, all from good friends of his mentor Xu Jingyuan, sent from all over Daqian.

There is only one content: Xu Jingyuan does not have a senior brother named "Red Leaf Monk" at all.

Everything is fake, everything is a conspiracy...

The chance encounter in Shangyu County, that mountain, that stone tablet, and that place of ascetic practice were all just special circumstances that aided the conspiracy.

"Hongye, who are you?!"

"Why can you do this?"

"You...are you an immortal?!"

Han Chan looked up at the ceiling, despair in her eyes, and laughed, "Hahahaha, I'm not the only chess piece on the board. Little Prince Huai, the dog emperor of Southern Xinjiang, you all worked so hard until the end, but maybe you're just making wedding clothes for others."

"brush."

At this moment, the curtain of the military tent was lifted and a tall man walked in.

The cold wind whistled outside the tent, which made Han Chan sober up a little and looked forward.

Inside the tent, a burly middle-aged man wearing silver armor and with a resolute face stared at Han Chan with his hands behind his back, his expression icy.

"General Han Liang, what do you want from my tent?!" Han Chan collected his thoughts and poured himself a cup of tea gracefully.

The burly man was none other than Han Liang, the most powerful general in Bashu. Although he looked rough, he was a man of great strategy and good at commanding troops. He was often praised by the court officials as the general who would stabilize the southern part of Daqian.

Han Liang stepped forward and looked down at him. "Can the rebels in the court of Southern Xinjiang still be used by me? Or we can use each other. If they exert their strength now, we still have a chance to break through Jumaguan Pass. Once the destiny of Little King Huai's swallowing nine lands is interrupted, the army of Southern Xinjiang will inevitably be exhausted. We can wait for the arrival of reinforcements from the rear. In less than ten days, at least 800,000 troops will march south, aiming at Qingliang Prefecture."

Han Chan picked up the teacup with disheveled hair and shook her head slowly, saying, "The rebels in the court of Southern Xinjiang can never be used by me. They have always been in contact with Guanfeng... At this moment, Emperor Wanwu dared to use troops, so he must have already kept a close eye on all the suspicious people in the court. Whoever moves at this time will be crushed to pieces."

Han Liang looked at him with his hands behind his back: "Is it impossible?"

"Yes." Han Chan nodded.

Han Liang came here only to contact the rebels in Southern Xinjiang, so after hearing Han Chan's reply, he completely gave up: "Then you are useless."

"Yes." Han Chan admitted with a smile.

"You!! Even if you are crushed to dust, you can't atone for your sins." Han Liang pointed his finger at his cheek and said word by word: "The land of Bashu, the lives and deaths of tens of millions of people, such a vast territory? It's like a basin of clear water, which you mercilessly poured towards the south. Han Chan, this is not how you plan things!"

Han Chan paused for a moment while holding the teacup and asked softly, "General Han, do you remember who promoted you?!"

Han Liang fell silent after hearing this.

"When you joined the army, you were promoted to the fifth rank military general thanks to the support of your family. How many people in this vast world can be compared with you?! Later, you worshipped the governor of three prefectures as your mentor, took the initiative to join the military party, and was recommended by a group of military officers. Only then did you become the general of a prefecture in Bashu, right?" Han Chan asked with a smile.

Han Liang listened to the other party reading his resume and still didn't say anything.

"Even if you have strategies and talents, if no one appreciates you and you don't have friends supporting you, what good are you?" Han Chan said with a smile and angrily.

Han Liang looked at him with cold eyes, murderous intent evident in his eyes.

"I started school at the age of three. I left home before dawn and would not go home until the moon was full. I spent ten years studying and read thousands of books. I never thought that one day, the principles, etiquette, and military tactics I learned would eventually be used to scheme for power and politics, and to massacre people!!" Han Chan put down the teacup with a bang and gritted her teeth, saying, "This is the way of the world, this is how the court is! If you don't hold power, you can't plan or do anything! You are as small as dust, what can you do? What can you do!?"

"General Han, have you ever thought that the martial arts you practiced so hard are just for the purpose of becoming a lackey or bodyguard of the cronies in the court one day?!"

"...!"

The questioning voice resounded in the military tent. Han Liang stared at him for a long time and said softly, "Someone will send you back to Beijing to die."

After saying that, he turned and left.

"General Han, please wait a moment!"

"..." Han Liang turned and looked at him: "What are you waiting for."

"I must die, but I don't want to die under the executioner's knife." Han Chan stood up, took three steps, and knelt on the ground with a thud: "I set up the game, and I should bear all the consequences."

"If there is only one way, I am willing to go to the battlefield where two armies are fighting, even if it means... being a small soldier."

"...!"

After Han Liang was silent for a while, he simply turned around, lifted the curtain and left.

Inside the tent, Han Chan changed from a kneeling position to a slumped sitting position.

A cold wind blew, and the letters on the table flew everywhere.

As the candlelight flickered, Han Chan picked up the wine pot and said softly, "It's three thousand miles to Shangyu, and I can't see the mountains or the bright moon. What can I do in this chaotic world!"

……

A quarter of an hour later.

Han Liang had just returned to the outside of the three-army tent when he saw a lieutenant general running towards him: "General, General!"

He turned around and asked softly, "Why are you so flustered?"

"The Taoists from Wusheng Mountain... are here." The general immediately clasped his fists and replied, "More than a hundred of them. But...!"

"But what?" Han Liang asked.

"But the leader... turned out to be a boy of seven or eight years old." The lieutenant general said suspiciously: "This Five Sacred Mountains...!"

"Children of seven or eight years old?" Han Liang's eyes suddenly lit up, and he said urgently, "Quick, lead the way, I will go to greet you personally."

Not long after.

Han Liang and his companions rushed all the way to the outside of the camp, where they saw a group of Taoist priests in green, all carrying book baskets and standing in a group.

There were more than a hundred Taoists in this group, all of whom were practicing in the Five Saints Temple in Bashu. The oldest of them were over a hundred years old, and the youngest seemed to be a child of seven or eight years old.

In the crowd, a child of seven or eight years old stood at the front, his body relaxed, munching on a dry sesame cake with his little mouth.

When Han Liang saw the child, he immediately stepped forward and clasped his fists, saying, "Governor of Bashu - Han Liang. Respectfully welcome fellow disciples from the Five Sacred Mountains to come down the mountain to help. Respectfully welcome...!"

"Do you have any water?" The innocent-looking, chubby-faced boy suddenly interrupted and asked.

"Yes, yes!" Han Liang nodded, and immediately turned around and shouted, "Quick, get some jugs of clean water."

At this time, a middle-aged Taoist priest stepped out and said, "The war is imminent, and we must make some preparations. General Han, please enter the account."

"Okay, everyone, please!"

Han Liang made way and looked at the child deeply.

In the crowd, the little Taoist boy with red lips and white teeth was biting a sesame seed cake with great effort, following the Taoists in the center and walking towards the military camp.

On the way, the middle-aged man who had spoken earlier said with a smile: "Little wonton, eat slowly."

"Why don't you see my senior brother?!" the child asked fiercely.

"Haha, okay, junior brother." The middle-aged man was not angry, he just responded to the other party's words.

The Taoist boy called Little Wonton nodded contentedly when he heard the other party calling him senior brother. He walked into the big tent carrying a tiny book basket on his back.

……

Outside Maguan.

Seventy thousand soldiers were lined up in battle array, wearing black armor and carrying long swords, exuding a strong murderous aura.

The fat dragon stood at the front of the army and whispered to Ren Ye, the eldest prince, the dragon chief and others: "I will lead the troops to attack personally. You just need to act according to the plan."

"Okay." The eldest prince nodded slightly: "Royal brother... swords and guns have no eyes, don't force it."

The third prince asked in a very pleasant voice: "Second brother, do you have anything else to say to me?!"

The fat dragon glared at the other person and said, "Old Third, how dare you slander me behind my back?! You wait until we get back to Beijing."

"Hehe." The third prince laughed awkwardly and immediately shut up.

Ren Ye looked at him and immediately sent a voice message: "Brother Fat Dragon, do you really want to fight so hard? This battle is quite risky, do you really want to lead the troops yourself?"

The fat dragon held the reins with his right hand and said word by word: "The ghosts of Sunset Town are watching here."

As soon as Ren Ye saw him reaching a higher altitude, he stopped talking.

The cold wind whistled past, blowing over the soldiers like a forest.

The fat dragon rode on a tall horse, slowly raised his gun, raised it above his head, and shouted: "Men of Southern Xinjiang - draw your swords and head north!!"

“Triumph!!”

“Triumph!!”

"...!"

The shouts of 70,000 people swept across the land, with long swords raised high, heading far to the north.

"kill!!"

The fat dragon roared and then took the lead to march towards the enemy camp.

The wind and sand swept by, and in front of the big fat dragon was a land of 400,000 soldiers... King Huai and Southern Xinjiang's first northern expedition thus began.