Ning Gu

The grass is luxuriant on the plug, the wind is blowing, and cattle and sheep are showing their heads under the sky.

The careless child sat on the back of an unsaddled horse, waving a long whip, and drove his flock of sheep one after another.A horse rushed out from a grassy hill not far away, and the rider who rode the horse was just a child of seven or eight years old. In the upper dialect, he raised his hand and pointed to the new beacon tower with the Citi flag in the distance, which was different from the past.

That is the beacon tower of Juyan. In the boundary of Ma Pingchuan, it towers so high that it seems to reach the sky. On the left and right, there are high walls made of blue stones, starting from the foot of Yinshan Mountain and stretching eastward, like a crouching dragon Here, the flames of war for thousands of years have been separated, and the communication between the residents of the two places has also been separated.

The door was not opened until Emperor Hui ascended the throne.He also called brothers and sisters with the leaders of the eighteen tribes, and made an oath to recuperate and recuperate. Only then did changes occur in this place. Herdsmen entered the pass, horse merchants came and went, and various commercial markets prospered in Beisai.

And a few years ago, there was turmoil on the grassland again, and many herdsmen lived in and outside the city of Juyan.

And the Ashina family in the north gave birth to a prairie overlord, who led his iron hoof team to fight everywhere.In fact, he can be regarded as a character on the grassland. When he first entered the customs with his father for a banquet, he seemed to be unaware of the sky, and wanted to ask Yuanhua to return to the grassland to be his queen.In the end, after being rejected by Yuan Hua, I didn't know whether he really wanted to prove it to Yuan Hua, or he wanted to fight for it, or he was ambitious. After six years, he annexed all the eighteen books of the grassland under his own hands. .

Not long ago, he wrote a letter to Emperor Hui.The revision book stated that he was willing to be a minister like the imperial court, and also made a request that sister Hua should wait for her in Juyan.

After reading the scriptures, Emperor Hui lost his temper, which frightened the servants on duty outside the Changming Hall to have nightmares for several nights.But no one knew whether Emperor Hui's anger was due to Ashina's wild words in the book, or because Yuanhua was the princess favored by Emperor Hui.

However, because Yuanhua and Changle accompanied him and had a long talk with Emperor Hui all night long, Emperor Hui finally agreed to Ashina's request, resumed the position of princess of Yuanhua Kingdom, and designated the land of "Qi" as the fief. Yi, and asked her to go to Beisai for herself.

Zhao Zuo went up to the Beacon Tower and looked at a woman dressed in Chinese clothes with an unruly appearance, with green frown and yellow flowers, long and narrow phoenix eyes, and a jade face lined with sandalwood mouth.

It was rare for Zhao Zuo to see Yuan Hua dressed up like this. He stood behind her and called out.

"Sister Hua."

Yuan Hua looked back after hearing the sound, and smiled with the corners of his mouth curled up. The sharp eyebrows that were specially drawn were slightly curved, and the whole person seemed not so unkind: "Brother Zuo."

Zhao Zuo nodded, took two steps, and heard Yuan Hua continue: "It's really windy today."

"That's right," Zhao Zuo said in harmony, facing the wind with his hands behind his back, "I told General Lu that day that this place should be located in Yan Ran's house."

"Yanran has the Lu family's general's mansion, so Ashina has the guts and no intentions. However, this place is also good." Yuan Hua looked into the distance as he spoke, sizing up the scenery on the frontier.

In the boundless surroundings, she stood on a high platform, Ren Changfeng lifted her dress, Ren Zhucui's swaying lingling sound rang in her ears, let herself close her eyes and still be able to recall the half-wall of clouds and smoke, and it took a long time before she opened her pair of phoenix... Mou, and said again: "If you are not here, but in the house, how can you see the scenery of the river and mountains? Or... Brother Zuo doesn't want to see it?"

Yuan Hua raised his chin slightly, his eyes were still looking into the distance, as if the question just now was not a test, but an unintentional sentence.

Zhao Zuo didn't know what he wanted or didn't want to say. He wanted to see the country, and what he wanted to see was a country without beacons in all directions; The peaceful days and nights I have felt.

But he didn't express his thoughts.

He followed Yuan Hua's gaze, and his gaze finally fell on the mountain road not far away.On the mountain road, a group of chariots and horses came mightily, and the ostentation was even bigger than that of Yuan Hua, the princess of the country.

Zhao Zuo was startled, and the mighty sound of horseshoes came from a distance. Apart from the great momentum, it also indicated that there might not be too many real soldiers and horses following Ashina.

But on the other hand, Yuan Hua still looked calm and relaxed, and continued: "I was born in Chongque, and I have never seen this scene before. Unlike you..." Yuan Hua paused as he spoke, and continued, "Speaking of it What about Xianzhi? I haven't seen him for a few days, but he went back peacefully?"

"No." Zhao Zuo looked at the more and more horses on the meadow, and frowned again, "Leave him by Ye Lao's side."

"Stay with Ye Lao?" Yuan Hua nodded thoughtfully.

Zhao Zuo didn't take Xianzhi by his side, probably because he was not sure about today's events and was afraid that he would not be able to protect Xianzhi.

Yuan Hua thought about it but suddenly pursed his lips and smiled, turned back and went to the seat on the stage, and said as he walked, "That Pingzhi will find him a husband. I don't know how many princes and grandchildren will be jealous in Fufeng in the future. But it's okay, thank you..." Yuan Hua's words stopped abruptly, and he didn't continue.

Zhao Zuo raised his eyebrows when he heard the words, and wanted to continue to explore, but was blocked by Yuan Hua's "gaffe".He had no choice but to turn over the slip of the tongue, bowed to thank him, and said humbly: "It's a coincidence that he has such a chance. The main reason is that he is still young, and I'm afraid this place is not normal, so he can't take care of it."

"That's right. I heard that Ashina has a relationship with me," Yuan Hua changed the topic, and the smile on the corner of his mouth suddenly showed a bit of self-mockery, and he commented: "It's a wicked heart." If you don't obey him, Isn't it going to break the peace of Saibei?Yuanhua didn't ask this question, she is the princess of Fufeng, she will never obey anyone except Emperor Hui, she has been in the past, and she will be in the future.

"I'm afraid he has other things besides his evil heart." Zhao Zuo said in a deep voice.

"Brother Zuo also thinks that there are ulterior motives in this?" Yuan Hua said seemingly inadvertently, "Before Pingzhi left Fufeng, he asked me to talk about this." Then he joked, "You two are watching now. It’s not just the temper that matches.”

Zhao Zuo's ears were still undeniably red, and there was a rippling in his heart, with some pride, probably because she put herself and Xie Wuling together.

But in fact, in the eyes of everyone in Fufeng, the two of them are both prosperous and both prosperous, and both are inseparable.It's just that he is a fan of the authorities.

Zhao Zuo suppressed the arrogance in his heart, looked at Ashina's horse stopped under the stage, turned around, and said in a serious manner: "If it only meets us, it's okay. General Lu transferred his troops to the city. It's a disguise in the outer mountains, counting sister Hua and my personal guards, it's not a small number; I'm not afraid of his dismounting, but if the ringing bell in his hand rang..."

"Yanran?"

"Yeah." Zhao Zuo nodded and continued to analyze, "Yanran only has half of its troops left, and there are still people in the city. It may not be able to withstand the surprise attack of the grassland barbarians."

"So if he is really pointing at east and west, you will lead his soldiers and horses from the Mountain Deer Camp back to help." Yuan Hua raised his eyes and ordered.His eyes were covered with some irresistible anger, and Zhao Zuo was taken.Before Xie Wuling left Fufeng to the northwest, he purposely came to find Yuanhua, but what he said was far more than that little inference about "ulterior motives".

That night they played half a game of idle pieces before waiting for Xie Wuling's main topic.What I want is for Yuan Hua to bring a message to the Grand Master of the Lu family who guards the northern border of Saibei, and ask him to protect Zhao Zuo who will come here according to the order.

Emperor Hui wanted Xie Wuling to protect Princess Qi, but Xie Pingzhi wanted to protect only one person.He clearly complied with Emperor Hui's will, but secretly added other chess pieces, which can be considered a habitual offender.

It used to be the dark guard who came all the way from Zhaoxing, but now it is the Saibei Lu family.

Zhao Zuo was so lost in thought that he ignored the people around him.It wasn't until when Ashina went up to the beacon tower that the horse under the stage neighed, Zhao Zuo's thoughts were pulled back.

His color didn't change, he just said in a low voice: "What my father wants me to do is to protect Sister Hua comprehensively."

He rejected Yuan Hua.In fact, no matter whether it was Yuan Hua's intention to test him, or she really wanted him to get away first, Zhao Zuo would make such a decision.He looked at Yuan Hua firmly, Yuan Hua smiled and said nothing else.His gaze went over the wall again, looking down from a high position, locked on Ashina's body, watching Ashina get off his horse.

After finishing the last step, Ashina looked sideways at the woman seated at the conference table in the middle of the Beacon Tower.His thick eyebrows were filled with joy in an instant, as if the person reflected in his eyes was his grassland, or his world.

He stood on tiptoe, feeling as if he was floating into the clouds, and walked very cautiously.He walked to the conference table in two steps, closed his eyes, and bowed reverently on the grassland, as if he was about to welcome his bride.

But this beautifully dressed woman is not like his bride, instead she sits upright and accepts all his etiquette, and sits firmly in her original position, her eyebrows are sharp and her eyes are sharp, her jade face is cold, and she respects her in a cold voice: "Khan king."

Ashina's eyes circled her a few times, the dark and deep eyes made countless women in the grassland sink, but they couldn't move the bride in his dream.But what he has is patience and courage, and he replied gently in his barely standard Chinese: "Princess Qi."

Yuan Hua raised his eyebrows when he heard the words, and after pouring tea, he introduced Zhao Zuo beside him, and the officials who gradually took their seats.

Things on Juyan's beacon tower were proceeding in an orderly manner, but Fufeng City was not so peaceful.

Xie Wuling had just settled in Juheng Garden before being summoned into the palace by the eunuchs in the palace.

On the way here, he got a few words from eunuchs, and then he learned that Princess Changle moved out of Chongque to pray for blessings, and lived in Lingjian Guantou.

The Changming Hall was still empty as before, and there were Qi Kingdom and Princess Changle as companions earlier.Now in the big hall, only Emperor Hui and Xie Wuling are left.Facing the silent Emperor Hui, Xie Wuling also pretended to be embarrassing.

But Emperor Hui didn't seem to glance at him, and just let him kneel in the hall and wait.It wasn't until Xie Wuling's knees were aching that Emperor Hui put down the ink pen in his hand, raised his head and asked, "You're back?"

"Yes." Xie Wuling replied seriously.He definitely has no reason not to come back, unless Zhao Zuo...

But no unless.

"Get up, nothing to do today, play a game of chess with the widow?" Said Emperor Hui got up and went to the next room, Xie Wuling had to follow.

"I heard that the country of Qi has arrived in Juyan, that Guzang..." Emperor Hui put Heizi on the plate, and thanked Wuling with narrowed eyes.

Xie Wuling took Bai Zi's hand for a moment, then stopped the road and said: "When I left, Master Guzang had already set off."

Emperor Hui took his eyes back, and said with confidence: "That's good." Emperor Hui replied, but he couldn't help but heaved a sigh of relief, "It's not in vain for Changle's heart."

Xie Wuling frowned suddenly because of this sentence, he pretended to hear it for the first time, wanted to find out something from Emperor Hui, and said: "I don't know Princess Changle..."

"She invites you to enter the Lingjian temple to pray for her elder sister and elder brother." Emperor Hui continued seemingly carelessly, "Is there something about this Fufeng that Mr. Xiao doesn't know?"

After speaking, Xie Wuling's eyes met the narrowness in Huidi's eyes, which made Xie Wuling startled.

But Xie Wuling's hand didn't stop, he slammed down on Bai Zi and said: "I don't know much about Fufeng, the sage Monachon made fun of it. Besides, Princess Changle hasn't given me any good looks since the last incident. "

Emperor Hui laughed out loud when he heard the words, and asked again: "Then, is the little gentleman blaming the widow?"

"The minister didn't dare, the Holy Majesty gave the minister the current position," Xie Wuling raised his eyes deliberately, and said softly, "Eating people is short-mouthed. After all, he is still a foodie."

The smile on Emperor Hui's face disappeared.Shen Changxie's identity should be known to no one in Fufeng except Shen Shi and him.However, in Xie Wuling's words now, it is clear that he knows that Shen Changxie is under Emperor Hui's command, which means that he has a glimpse of Tian Jiuxi's matter should be ordered by Emperor Hui.

Old Xie Xiang once said: "Holy will is never unpredictable, but you just don't want to be guessed by others. What you want is to let him know clearly that you can guess his mind, so that he will be afraid and respect you three points .”

And Xie Wuling is now telling Emperor Hui that Emperor Hui is testing him and seeing him through; he, too, will be able to see Emperor Hui through one day.Emperor Hui snorted coldly, and Luo Heizi ate a few of Xie Wuling's white sons.

Xie Wuling's hand grabbed a few chess pieces in the chess ladle, and then laughed warmly: "Chen, I lost."

"Xiao Mister is not the same today as he was in the past." Emperor Hui shook his head seriously, raised his hand to pick up the liquidation.

"Chen..." Xie Wuling lowered his head and said softly.

However, Emperor Hui didn't take it seriously for his sudden softening attitude, and continued to tease: "You...you played this chess game today, but do you have any objections to the widow?"

"I dare not." Before Xie Wuling finished speaking, he made a gesture to stand up and kneel down to admit his mistake, but Emperor Hui raised his hand to press him down, signaling that there was no need to do so.Xie Wuling immediately followed up: "I know I made a mistake, please punish me, Your Majesty."

"What's wrong, it's just a game of chess. If the widow punishes you today, tomorrow the city will be full of scribes, I'm afraid it's time to punish the widow, the stupid king." Huidi said, while looking at Xie Wuling meaningfully, But he didn't continue talking.

During the time when Xie Wuling was not in Fufeng, Shen Changxie secretly handed Emperor Hui a list. Most of the people on the list were people who were related to Xie Wuling, and most of the list were the "cleaning corruption" a few months ago. The rookie who fills the vacancy.And most of these newcomers filled the central positions of Yushitai and Liubu.If one day Xie Wuling is not in Fufeng, then as long as he thinks about it, he can know the strange things that happened in Fufeng.

As for the "clearing of corruption" a few months ago, it was probably because after Tian Juxi misappropriated the military salary, the Ministry of War, under the help of Xuancheng Lord, saw the opportunity and wrote a note, mentioning that the money allocated by the imperial court to recruit soldiers every year finally arrived. The Ministry of War has less than half of the time.

This happened because Xuancheng bypassed the cabinet and directly handed the booklet to Emperor Hui's desk. After seeing it, Emperor Hui pretended to be angry, and because Xuancheng was in the Ministry of War at the beginning, he gave him a chance to thoroughly investigate and clean up corruption. Naturally, Xie Wuling was given a chance.

In this way, Xuancheng and Qiguo vacated seats for Xie Wuling, and Xie Wuling filled the vacant seats in the temple. It sounded like a one-off thing, but this move planted the root of disaster in Emperor Hui's heart.

Xie Wuling met Emperor Hui's eyes, seeing the certainty in Emperor Hui's eyes, he also understood the changes in Fufeng in the past half a month, or why Changle suddenly went to Lingjian Temple, at this time he had the answer.

Seeing him bowing his head and keeping silent, Emperor Hui didn't make any trouble, but the slyness in his eyes was more serious.He held sunspots and dropped them on the plate.

"Is it okay for Yehou to be in the northwest?" Emperor Hui chatted casually.

"Ye Hou has been seriously ill for a few days, and now his son Ye Fuzhou is temporarily taking over the affairs of the General's Mansion." Xie Wuling explained the excuse that Ye Fuzhou used during the rectification in Guzang.

Emperor Hui said with a tusk: "It's a pity."

Xie Wuling disposed of the Bai Zi in his hand, and said in a gentle voice: "The old general said that it would not be a pity if he could die."

"It seems that Mr. Xiao and Ye Hou have talked a lot?"

"It's just that Pingzhi was lucky enough to listen to Lord Hou's teachings. But..." Xie Wuling deliberately paused, and asked Emperor Hui: "But?"

"Pingzhi was invited by Guzang Lord to visit the outer city of Guzang, and he saw a strange thing."

"Huh?" Emperor Hui was in high spirits, and was even a step slower in making a move.

"One time when I came back at night, I saw the hills outside the city full of excitement. Unfortunately, I was too far away to catch up with the excitement. Later, I asked a local butcher one day, and he said that he was hunting wolves that day. Staying in the desert When the moon is on the west mountain, wolves will howl. But in the customs, most of the wolves are killed directly. In Guzang, I heard about hunting wolves to tame them."

"Taming wolves?" Emperor Hui opened his eyes wide and asked, probably hearing this for the first time.

"Yes, but I heard that not many have been tamed successfully." Xie Wuling responded.

When Emperor Hui heard what Xie Wuling said, he said, "Fierce beasts are hard to tame."

"Yes. It's difficult to tame, so we have to hunt. That's why many wolf corpses appeared on that hill after that day." Xie Wuling said with a blank face, but Emperor Hui paused for a while.

"Sir, are you afraid?"

"I'm afraid." Xie Wuling admitted generously, then paused again.The wolf taming story was half true and half false. He just compared himself to a wolf and the man in front of him to a wolf tamer.

However, Emperor Hui's reaction was faster than Xie Wuling imagined. Xie Wuling's story was just finished, and his words were like a sharp knife. Xie Wuling paused and said: "But I am more afraid of living." Bow down and do your best, for fear of being a Zhao Xingren in vain.”

"Xiao Mister just want to say this to the widow?" Emperor Hui put the chess pieces back into the ladle, so that he could wait for Xie Wuling's next words in his spare time.

But Xie Wuling pushed his white pieces to Emperor Hui bit by bit, nibbling away his black pieces, and he said: "Why Xie Pingzhi came back, the Holy One knows. What the Holy Majesty wants Xie Pingzhi, Xie Pingzhi doesn't know."

Emperor Hui looked at the actions of Xie Wuling's subordinates, and said earnestly: "Do you still remember what your master once said to you?"

Loyalty in troubled times, sycophant in prosperous times.Xie Wuling will probably never forget it in this life. The parting of Chongque was probably the last time Xie Wuling and old Prime Minister Xie met, so Xie Wuling later clearly understood every word that old Prime Minister Xie said to him that night. Make a note of it.He stopped his movements and looked at Emperor Hui: "Remember."

"That kid from Congshan, everything is fine, but once he sits in this position, he can't turn back." Emperor Hui looked at the young man in front of him, the one who would frown when old Xie talked.Emperor Hui patted Xie Wuling's shoulder before continuing to ask:

"What's more, the faint and sycophant's family, when the time comes, how do you choose?" The sly and sycophant's family, do you want him to be labeled as a villain in the future, or let him make Xie Wuling himself a sycophant? Stigma?

Xie Wuling understood Emperor Hui's question, he looked into Emperor Hui's eyes and struggled in the darkness, he thought there must be a way to achieve both.

Emperor Hui's words shattered his Shuangquan Dharma, as if to warn him that there is no such thing as living up to the Tathagata and not disappointing Qing in this world.

"Don't forget what you admit. There can't be another Wang Cheng in this world. Even your master can't be alone in the end. You..." Emperor Hui's eyes seemed to be flushed, and even the hands under his sleeves were clenched. It's a punch.But Xie Wuling was immersed in his questioning, and did not notice the changes in Emperor Hui.

If I admit it, Zhaoxing's guest should be named Zhaoxing.He always wants to be a minister in that prosperous age, and his sycophant is also determined long ago.After he decided to join the WTO, many things were no longer his choice.

Emperor Hui looked at his absent-minded appearance, and had no idea of ​​persuading him.

"Before Mr. Xiao asks what the widow wants you to do, why not think about whether you are really willing to go all the way to the dark. You still have time to think, and the widow still has time to wait for you to think about it."

He stood up and sighed before leaving the Changming Palace, and ordered the eunuch to send Xie Wuling back to Juheng Garden.

The author has something to say: The one that trains wolves is a fake, I'm blind j... b made it up