across the Quartet

Chapter Four

On the third day after Li Mu's death, Lieutenant Zhao Da of the Forbidden Army led hundreds of men to arrest the "thief" who killed the minister.The knight-errant who made the case refused to give in easily. As a result, half of the streets and alleys in Handan were caught in a battle with weapons.Naturally, the hundred-gold warriors who led the day were not immune; but Zhao Da and the others were afraid of Lord Wu An's prestige in the hearts of the Chinese people after all, so they dared not go directly to the mourning hall to arrest people, but they gathered outside Li Mu's mansion, yelling and cursing like hooligans. Force the people inside to hand over the murderer.Li Mu's soldiers were all filled with righteous indignation, and they almost rushed out, but were suppressed by the four team leaders.Although the forbidden army in the capital city has not been drilled for a long time, their daily duties are only to stand guard at night, go in and out of the guard of honor, and maintain law and order. .Also because of the chaotic situation, no one noticed when Ge Nie disappeared.

On the fourth day, the group of thugs were still rampant outside the gate. They dared not step into the mansion, and the people inside were also unable to come out, so they fell into a stalemate.That night, the hundred-gold warriors discussed a plan, and Huang Li, who was the oldest and most thoughtful, went out to negotiate with the leader of the forbidden army.

"...A few days ago when we were fighting the Qin army in Jingxing, we captured a secret agent and found a batch of secret letters from his arms. The signatures were exactly the eleven officials who were killed the day before yesterday. They made an agreement with the Qin people, Once the Qin soldiers approached the city, they would secretly open the city gate at night and cooperate with the enemy inside and outside. We are ordered by the general to capture and execute all of these insiders."

"Nonsense! This matter is of great importance, do you have evidence?!"

"Of course." Huang Li pretended to take out a silk book from his sleeve, and stuffed it back. "Here is the thief's secret letter. Please forgive me for not daring to show the lieutenant. This letter is critical to Zhao's survival and can only be made public in front of the king and his ministers; if it falls into the hands of his inner accomplices, the consequences will be disastrous." .”

Zhao Da was furious when he heard the implication. "What do you mean? How dare you doubt Zhao's loyalty to the king?!"

"The general dare not. It's just that there are so many eyes and ears on the street. It's better to discuss such important matters in private. If the lieutenant can introduce the king or Lord Chunping for us, the general will definitely tell all the secrets here." Huang Li knelt down and kowtowed to him.

"A joke! Based on your one-sided remarks, you want to see the king?! I advise you to quickly hand over the mastermind who killed the minister, otherwise don't blame Zhao for not refusing to let the law go!"

"There is no mastermind in this matter. The last general and his subordinates acted according to orders, all for the safety of Handan!"

"Nonsense! Li Mu is no longer a general. What qualifications does he have to order the killing of ministers? I think Li Mu himself is the one who had an affair with the Qin people, deliberately killing Zhongliang!"

"You—you are shameless!" Huang Li was so angry that he stood up all of a sudden, "Mr. Wu An has fought for the country for dozens of years, and he has made great achievements. How can the general's reputation be tarnished by you and other bastards!!"

Zhao Da sneered, "If he is really innocent, how could he be given death by the king? Are you questioning the judgment of the king?! Doubting the king is disloyal to the country! Those who are disloyal to the country are Treason and traitor!!"

"The king is deceived by villains, and the country will be ruined overnight! Has the lesson of Changping's defeat 30 years ago been forgotten by Mr. Lieutenant?!"

"You!" Zhao Da was furious, and drew out his sword with a bang; Huang Li stood still, even though the halberds of several forbidden soldiers almost touched the soft armor on his chest; Draw the sword, it seems that a bloody battle is inevitable after all.

At this moment, the sound of horseshoes came from the alley.

The long black shadow turned around the street corner and gradually extended to here together with the fishy and salty smell in the wind.A white horse ran out from the end of the shadow. The horse's legs were wrapped in thick mud, and white foam was dragging from the corner of its mouth; the man on the horse's back was even more blood-stained and heavily clothed, staggering, looking extremely tired.There were still about ten steps away from Li's mansion, and he rolled off his horse, as if it was difficult for him to even stand up.

"Commander Gai?!" the hundred-gold warrior outside the door exclaimed.

Gai Nie was dragged to a trot for a few steps, and finally stopped the horse.Three or four guards blocked his way with long halberds.He looked up at them.

His eyes were very tired, and his eyes could hardly converge. He glanced at the few people blocking the way in a trance, as if looking at groups of dead flesh surrounded by iron clothes.

The gap between the armor, the joints of the hands and feet, the white neck.

There are too many flaws.

Ge Nie heard the dispute here as early as half a mile away.He should be angry, but his body is too tired to feel angry.The hard battle the night before had greatly damaged his essence, and even his spiritual consciousness had become chaotic, leaving only the instinct in his bones and blood: avoiding attacks, identifying vital points, and drawing the sword, and so on.He pressed his hand on the hilt of the sword, and his eyes lined up the throats of the people in front of him.

For no reason, Zhao Da felt that there was a hiss of cold air coming from the place where the man was watching.He wanted to shout, to curse, to chop wildly with the unsheathed sword, to let out the stuffy air in his chest; but the air accumulated more and more, stuffed in his chest like a snowball, Heavy and icy.

"Brother Gai?" Huang Li also felt that something was wrong, so he quickly called out again.

Gai Nie raised his eyes as if awakened, but finally put his hand down.The soldiers of the Forbidden Army who stopped him with long halberds broke out in a cold sweat unknowingly.Because the lieutenant was behind them, they had to point their halberds forward, but their feet retreated unconsciously.Suddenly one of them yelled in surprise——the person in front of him just disappeared.

After they reacted, Gai Nie had already walked behind the first row of halberd soldiers, and passed by Zhao Da.He didn't know when he took off a bundle wrapped in linen from behind the horse, held it in his hand, and strode towards the mourning hall; maybe it was because of his blood, or maybe it was his way of intimidating the Imperial Army, people on both sides cheered for him Get out of the way.

Gai Nie placed the burden in front of Lord Wu'an's throne, knelt down and saluted.Strangely, he didn't see him straighten up for a while.Li Zuoche, who had been kneeling in front of the coffin, felt that something was wrong, so he stepped forward to pat him, but saw his body tilted, and he simply fell asleep.

"Brother Gai?!" "Brother Gai!" Everyone panicked again.After Gai Nie was carried into the side room to rest, an old servant of the Li family remembered the sacrifice that had been placed in front of the spirit tablet, so he stretched out his hand to untie the sackcloth.He yelled "Wow", startling the unsuspecting people around him.

The crowd gathered together and stared blankly at the sacrificial object—it was a whole piece of transparent ice, and a human head was frozen inside; because it was placed in the ice, the face of the person still kept the terrified look of dying. look.

"...Guo Kai..." Low voices of discussion blew from the mourning hall to the outside of the mansion like a gust of dark wind.Zhao Da's expression changed immediately.

The Li Mansion, which has always been noisy, has never been so quiet as it is now.

Gai Niepu fell unconscious and fell asleep for four hours.When he woke up, he saw Li Zuoche in filial piety sitting quietly, with a medicine cup and soup bowl beside him.The morning light slanted in from the window, bringing a faint warmth.

"Brother, you're awake. What's wrong?"

Gaine shook his head.Still unable to make a sound, he simply dipped his fingers in water and wrote on the ground: Outside the door, the Imperial Army.

"Last night, Mr. Jia's servants came to express their condolences, and sent an order to the lieutenant of the imperial army, and they dispersed."

Gai Nie only felt that the advance and retreat of the forbidden army had a lot of meaning, but he was having headaches and couldn't get to the bottom of it.He also wrote: General Sima——

"Uncle... is gone."

Gai Nie sat up in surprise, Li Zuoche hurriedly comforted him: "No, he left with someone else. Two days ago, a strange old fortune-teller suddenly came to visit and called himself 'Heguanzi'. Uncle was clearly ill. I didn’t even recognize him, but when I saw him, I cried and bowed to the ground, called him ‘Master’...then left with him.”

Gai Nie let out a long breath, and thought: So it was him.

"The two of them want to leave, and no one in the mansion can stop them. The old man said that Uncle Sima is not sick, but he has attained enlightenment..."

Perhaps, for Mr., this is the best.Ge Nie thought to himself.

Li Zuoche was silent for a moment, then suddenly knelt down deeply, stood up and said, "Brother avenged his grandfather, he owed the Li family as much as a mountain, Zuoche dare not say thanks. If there is any order from the elder brother from now on, Zuoche is willing to die , death does not spin."

Ge Nie put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head vigorously.Suddenly, I was a little grateful to God for making me speechless, because at this time, I didn't know what else to say.

The damned and the undeserving are dead, even if they don't want to.The question is what to do next for the living.

Zuo Che handed him the boiled soup and medicine, after that several hundred gold warriors came in to visit, Gai Nie pointed to his throat with a wry smile, but still couldn't say a word.Everyone advised him to lie down on the couch and recuperate, and they left early.

However, Ge Nie could no longer close his eyes.He put on his clothes and stood up, separated the medicine cup and spoon, separated by a belt in the middle, and then looked at the ground in a daze, as if there was a "sand table" lying there.

Qin's army was divided into two routes to attack the border: the north route went out of Taiyuan, went down to Jingxing, and threatened the northwest; the south route went out of Hanoi, passed through Shangdang, and attacked the south of Handan;Zhao Cong is currently guarding Jingxing. Although General Li's arrangement before his death, with [-] to [-] troops combined with the dangerous terrain, is enough to defend this line of defense like a fortress, but once the army gets the news of the general's death, I don't know what will happen to the army's morale. shake.And Zhao Cong's character is irritable. He is not without talent, but unfortunately he is eager to make contributions and is eager to prove himself. This kind of mentality can easily be used by the wily Wang Jian.All kinds of reasons came together, and Gai Nie had to make the most frank estimate: Zhao Cong couldn't keep Jingxing.

Once Jingxing is breached, the vanguard of the Qin army can quickly march to the city of Handan within ten days at the earliest.In such a short period of time, it is absolutely impossible for the State of Zhao to mobilize troops and supplies to establish a second camp between Handan and Jingxing.It can be said that once Jingxing is lost, the city wall of Handan is its strongest and only remaining line of defense.Handan like this is like an orphan on a chessboard, which may be raptured at any time.Although 30 years ago, this isolated city had held on for three years with an unyielding attitude. After that, Lord Xinling sent the Wei and Chu allied forces to rescue Zhao in distress.However, will such a miracle happen again?Not only has Zhao’s territory been greatly reduced compared to 30 years ago, South Korea has perished, and the strength of other countries has also been continuously weakened; in addition, even if other countries are willing to send troops to rescue, the Qin army on the south road also blocked the arrival of Wei and Chu’s troops. The road under the city of Handan.

Ge Nie clenched his teeth and clenched his fist.His internal injuries were worse than five days ago, he tried to break through the bruising of the Lianquan and Shuidu acupoints on his neck many times with his true energy, but he still couldn't succeed.He fetched pen and ink, left a few lines on the case, then put on his clothes and jumped out of the window.

He first went to the horse market in the northwest of the city.The Zhuo family's cavalry team just brought in a batch of fine Xiongnu horses last month, which attracted many people to watch.An old, poor yellow horse was tied to the edge of the corral. It was skinny, with worn out teeth and long teeth. Obviously no one cared about it, but the horse owner asked for forty knives or two pieces of fine silk.Gai Nie wanted to buy two bolts of quarter silk, but the owner of course refused.The two sides bargained for a while, Ge Nie forced the silk cloth into the owner's arms, was pushed and shoved viciously by the owner, and threw the silk back to him.

Gai Nie deliberately hunched over and walked back holding the silk in resentment.When he turned to a secluded and deserted place, he stopped, carefully took out a piece of white linen cloth full of words from the silk, quickly scanned it, then stuffed the fine cloth into his sleeve, and continued to the next one. destination.

"Warm Building" is the largest and most famous dance workshop and advocacy hall in the North City of Handan.It is rumored that the current queen mother met the former king who was still the prince here when she was young, and then she went straight up and married into the Wang family.In the past few years, the Zhao Kingdom has been plagued by natural disasters and wars, but the Warm House has always been full of people, full of singing and dancing.Gai Nie walked near its side door, and dropped a Wei Guobu coin into a beggar's bowl lying on the ground, making a crisp sound.Not long after, a little beggar covered in filth suddenly rushed over from the alley, bumped headlong into his arms, and then tried to run away——Genie grabbed him and pulled out a fist from his clenched fist. Just a bulging purse.The little beggar grinned, lowered his head and got out from Ge Nie's armpit.

Gai Nie didn't chase after him, but reached out and took out a small piece of bamboo slip from his purse.He carefully groped for the lines engraved on the bamboo slices, and then exerted force with his four fingers, and the bamboo slips were crushed into fine crumbs.He looked around, then squatted down, and drew a character "Jia" on the sand with a dead branch.

The beggar lying on the ground turned over impatiently, covering the side of his face with a tattered straw hat.A deep and strange voice came from inside his belly. "Yesterday, he came."

Gai Nie wrote again: Let's talk about what.

"Transport food to replace the land and provide disaster relief."

Ge Nie frowned.It has been more than half a year since the earthquake happened, why do you only think of transporting grain from Handan now?Although it is a bit cruel, but the food shortage and the most important thing now is the front line of Jingxing. How to solve the food and grass there?He wanted to ask again, but he heard the people on the ground say: "There are strange things in the east of the city."

—what's the matter?

"Dozens of people contracted strange illnesses at the same time, vomiting and diarrhea, and were exhausted. Fortunately, they were rescued by a foreign doctor. According to this person, there are unclean things in the well water."

— Take precautions in advance.People from the south of the city can be transferred to assist.

"Yes."

Gai Nie flattened the sand on the ground, and planned to go back there; the people who entered and exited the warm building were nobles from aristocratic families, rich merchants and rich merchants, and wearing his identity, his entry and exit were conspicuous.But before he took two steps, he suddenly felt an extremely familiar aura.

He was so shocked that he stood still, and after a while, he finally walked around to the main entrance and raised his legs to step over the threshold.As expected, the building was warm and welcoming, with laughter and laughter, and the fine silk gauze clothes rubbed against each other as they moved around, making a pleasant rustling sound.Ge Nie went up the three floors along the stairs, and walked straight to a corner near the window.Behind the fragrant curtain, two beautiful maidservants are pouring wine for a distinguished guest and playing fans.The guest was dressed in a brocade robe and jade belt, with a sword on his waist, and his white hair was scattered behind his head. He seemed to be enjoying the music and dance in the center of the warm building.

Ge Nie lifted the curtain and walked in.The white-haired guest turned his head slightly and whispered something in the ear of one of the beautiful servant girls; the two quickly bowed and walked out gracefully.After they left, Gai Nie went over to sit opposite that person.

The guest looked at his face carefully, and suddenly stretched out two fingers of his right hand, resting on his neck veins.Ge Nie tilted his head uncomfortably.The guest immediately withdrew his middle finger, and only pointed his index finger at Shuitu acupoint on the side of his neck.Gai Nie also made a move at the same time, and pointed to Shenmen acupoint on the opponent's right hand.The guest then moved his palms to the outside and cut the heels of his palms to the back of Gai Nie's ears; Gai Nie's lower body sat still and turned his head obliquely to avoid it, but the guest suddenly hit his stomach with a heavy fist with his left hand, and then Buckle your wrists inward, extend your thumbs, and wipe the surface of your fist along the midline of your chest to the middle of your collarbone.

Gai Nie took the punch forcefully, his face turned pale first and then red, and then he spit out a mouthful of dark purple blood with a wow.After coughing for a while, he looked up and saw a full wine glass handed to him, so he took it and drank it down in one gulp.

"Can you talk?"

"...Xiao Zhuang, thank you."

Ge Nie heard an extremely hoarse voice, but it was indeed coming from his own throat.He wiped his mouth dry with his sleeve. "How did you come to Handan?"

"Passing by."

"Could it be that you have something to do with me when you release your sword energy?"

Wei Zhuang avoided answering, picked up the wine vessel on the table and played with it in his hands.At this time, the musicians on the stage had just finished playing a piece, and the whole building was full of loud and admiring voices.

"Senior brother, how did you make yourself into this look?"

"Angry."

Wei Zhuang immediately laughed out loud. "Li Mu is dead, are you very unhappy?"

"It's more than that." Ge Nie poured himself another glass of strong wine and drank it slowly.Days and nights passed, and the shocking pool of blood in the Lingwu Hall followed him like a hideous ghost.

If I had been vigilant early, how could I let the general easily fall into the trap?If I am strong enough, how can I be stumbling by those people outside the hall and miss the last chance?If I—

Wei Zhuang said at this time: "I came to see you by the way to deliver a message."

"what news?"

Wei Zhuang gathered his voice into a bunch, and conveyed his voice with a secret method: "King Chu, he is about to die."

Gai Nie's eyes widened, and he also sent a secret voice transmission: "When?"

Wei Zhuang smiled: "The shortest is ten days, and the longest is a hundred days. Although the king of Chu has always been weak and sick, once something is found out, the clan and nobles will not let it go; Son, it can be regarded as an explanation to the clan."

"...so you can't stay in Chu."

"That's right. If it's the king of Chu's younger brother Mi You who succeeds, then he won't keep him. This period is the most tense and turbulent period in the state of Chu, and there is a slight error , are all overthrowing situations.”

"So you jumped out of the game instead, making it impossible for any force in Chu to deal with you."

"Because of this, it would be a big mistake if Zhao Guo wanted to seek help from Chu. They have their own private soldiers, they restrain each other, they will not move lightly, and they will not be distracted by the affairs of other countries."

"I understand." Gai Nie said. "It's also impossible to ask Qi for help. Hou Sheng has completely controlled the king of Qi; before our country just borrowed food from them and was rejected, let alone sending troops."

"The Kingdom of Wei itself may not even be able to muster 60 armored soldiers. What's more, the Qin army takes the Shangdang route on the south road. If there is still room for attacking Zhao, they can go south to attack Wei at any time. Do you think the King of Wei dares to move? As for the Kingdom of Yan... you Do you still remember, after Changping, which country believed that all the strong people in Zhao State were dead, and that he was lonely and young, so he dispatched an army of [-] to destroy Zhao in a single battle?"

"Xiao Zhuang, what do you mean by all this?"

"I just want to ask - why don't you go?"

"Walk?"

"I advise you to give up the idea of ​​defending the city as soon as possible. After the defeat of Changping, Zhao Guojun and his officials were united, and the soldiers and people died, so the isolated city can be defended; but what about the current Zhao Guoguo, and what about the officials? Even the most loyal to the country. Given death on the charge of treason, how many people are willing to serve such a royal family? If you use a human analogy, Zhao Guo was pierced by Qin Yijian 30 years ago. Although the trauma was severe, he still wanted to survive; But the country is terminally ill, rotten from the inside, and it is hopeless."

"……indeed so."

"Disciples of Guigu and those who are vertical and horizontal are not limited by their background, nor do they care about the gains and losses of a city or a country. What's more, if you talk about your background, you were born in Yuci, and Yuci returned to Qin more than 20 years ago. Even the Zhao people are not counted."

"Could Xiaozhuang persuade me to work for Qin?"

"Senior brother, as long as he leaves this city, he can go to any country. If he goes to Qin, junior brother is also happy to see it happen." Wei Zhuang threw his wine glass on the table and raised his eyebrows with a smile. "You are vertical, but you serve Qin and take care of the horizontal affairs; I am horizontal, but you travel all over the world, and you have the intention of repairing the vertical. Isn't such a game of chess extremely interesting?"

"Right now, I can't leave." Ge Nie shook his head slowly. "Handan is different from the capitals of other countries. The blood feud between Qin and Zhao is too deep; the relationship between Handan and King Qin is really too deep. This king is full of memories of King Qin's resentment and hostility, and also buried his most unspeakable The secret of life experience. Once the king of Qin gets Handan, how will he treat his enemies? The general once said, "After Changping, there will be no surrender." I can't let the tragedy of Changping happen here."

"What can you do by yourself?"

"Zhao Guo still has a sliver of power, if it is used properly, it may be able to see miraculous results." Rubbing the white linen cloth in his sleeve, Gai Nie said again: "After Guo Kai left, Zhao Guo's court has undergone drastic changes. In the past, I thought that it was only Guo Kai who used Zhao Wang’s favor to issue edicts and cultivate cronies; now that I think about it, Zhao Wang, as the son of a prostitute, was once opposed by the officials, so he used Guo Kai’s eyeliner And the ability to plot against others to check and balance Zhao's clan. As soon as Guo Kai left, Zhao Wangqian was immediately emptied, and his wings were cut off one by one. With the support of the clan and important officials, Gongzi Jia has already taken control of the government. The country's attitude has always been war-oriented, and this person will not easily surrender to the King of Qin."

"I advise you not to trust Mr. Zhao Guo too much." Wei Zhuang chuckled, raised his glass again and said, "If Senior Brother is not in a hurry to leave, just listen to me tell a story."

"Please tell me." Ge Nie couldn't hide the curious look in his eyes.

"It is rumored that three years ago, in this 'warm building' under our feet, there was a dancer with both talents and looks. Many princes and nobles were willing to spend a lot of money just to dance with her; It was also love at first sight, just like the former king of Zhao State to the Queen Mother. But the strange thing is that Gongzi Jia did not bring this girl into the mansion, but sent her to Jicheng two years ago. Crown Prince Dan of Yan State had a great love for this dancing girl. She was also very courteous and spent a lot of money to build the "Flying Snow and Jade Flower Terrace", making her dancing skills shocking all over the city. Later, she was favored by King Yan's uncle Yanchun Jun. Yanchun Jun was greedy and lustful, so he must take her as his own. Yes. The dancer girl had already had her own heart, so she plotted with her accomplices to assassinate Yan Chunjun, and then disappeared. Some people said that she had fallen off a cliff and died, while others said that she cheated her death and fled to the mountains and forests with her acquaintances. Brother, do you think there is any doubt about this touching story?"

Gai Nie frowned, and asked, "If it is said that Young Master Jia is willing to part with this dancer to please King Yan or Prince Dan, why didn't Prince Dan take her into the palace instead? Made her famous throughout the city and attracted the attention of the royal family and nobles? Prince Dan should know his uncle's weakness of beauty, why didn't he protect this girl in advance, but let her be snatched by Yan Chunjun? This dancer seems to have martial arts , Does Prince Dan know about it? If so, why didn’t he remind Lord Yanchun earlier?”

"Not bad, not bad." Wei Zhuang clapped his hands lightly, "Based on my experience, this dancer girl is probably a chess piece sent by Young Master Jia to the Kingdom of Yan. Prince Dan has long intended to get rid of Lord Chunshen, so as a 'Bait', quietly destroying political opponents."

Gai Nie said: "In this way, the relationship between Young Master Jia and Prince Dan must be very close. If Young Master Jia and Yan Guo had an alliance, maybe Yan and Zhao could really be each other's lips and teeth, and defend against powerful enemies together."

Wei Zhuang said: "Using beauty as a sword is indeed a good plan. Gongzi Jia and Prince Dan have this plan, it can be seen that both of them are good at forbearance, and the city is immeasurable. If their plan to resist Qin is different from yours , I am afraid that it will become a difficult opponent. In addition, the country of Yan is located in a remote place. Even if you plan to save Zhao, it may take several months from the deployment of troops, the preparation of supplies, and the final dispatch of troops to the city of Handan. Handan is no better than 30 Years ago, it may not be able to support it for so long. Even so, do you still want to stay?"

"I—do my best."

Wei Zhuang lowered his eyes and silently stared at the eyes of the person in front of him.The air between the two suddenly became tense.After a long time, he finally tossed his glass and smiled.

"Forget it, the three-year period has not yet expired, and I still owe you a favor after all." Ge Nie wanted to say something, but Wei Zhuang stopped him with his hand.He stood up in full clothes, walked past Gai Nie, and strode downstairs.

"But it's okay; the road ahead is unpredictable, when you can't survive or die, my favor will be repaid."

TBC