Looking at the mountains and rivers

"Mr. Wu," Wei Changxuan lowered his head and picked up the teacup, and said slowly, "Since you are just a businessman who runs a tea house, why are you able to find out such top-secret matters as dispatching troops in the frontier?"

The master was slightly taken aback, and then Wei Changxuan suddenly raised his eyes, his eyes were sharp: "What is your identity, and what is the purpose of saying these words to me?"

The master's expression changed, he smiled wryly and sighed, "General Wei, the killing intent is fierce."

Although his smile was bitter, he was quite calm, and he didn't seem to have a guilty conscience.Wei Changxuan and him looked at each other for a moment, then silently let go of the clenched hands under the table, and said in a low voice, "Excuse me for being rude."

"General Wei's doubts are actually not unreasonable. I'm just a commoner. It stands to reason that I have no way to inquire about these military affairs."

Wei Changxuan shook his head and said: "Mr. Wu and General Chen are old friends, and their views are very high. I think it's not just as simple as a commoner. It's just that we don't have any news in the army about the transfer from the garrison. Where did you come from?" Got it?"

Wu Ningqing smiled wryly again: "General Wei, don't think that I'm just an ordinary person living idle in the market. When I was young, I was full of ambition and traveled around. I once studied under a famous teacher. At that time, I was smart and eager to learn. I followed the teacher I have been to many places. I have learned more and more things, but my heart has become more and more empty, and I have nowhere to fall back on. Because I find that no matter what, I still don’t understand the world.” He poured tea into his cup , but did not drink, just staring at the amber tea soup, "My teacher and my classmates spent their whole lives trying to change the world, but I can clearly see that the world they want to build is no different from the present. It was even more cruel. I was finally disheartened, bid farewell to the teacher, returned to Jian'an, and opened this tea house. I don't want to chase those falsehoods, and forget myself and my own heart in the gain and loss. Why don't you Sitting in this small building, drinking a cup of tea, looking at the sycamore trees outside the window, and waiting for the leaves of the sycamore trees to fall from the treetops to the ground, it will be a lifetime."

When Wei Changxuan listened to him, he felt inexplicably sad. He hesitated for a while, and asked in a low voice, "Is Mr. Wu's teacher Prime Minister Wu Ya?"

"Exactly." Wu Ningqing slowed down, "Although I am indifferent to the market, I also have correspondence with my former classmates. They sent letters to inform me of the news of the troop transfer."

"So that's the case, then the news must be credible." Wei Changxuan paused, hesitantly trying to find some reasons for this matter, "However, it's not surprising if it's just an ordinary army that rotates to defend."

He raised his head and thought for a while before asking, "Do you know where the transferred troops have gone?"

Wu Ningqing nodded slowly, dipped his fingers in the tea, and slowly drew on the table, and it was a map of the mountains in the northwest.

In the afternoon, Prince Mu's Mansion.

Dugu Hong pushed open the door of Moxue Pavilion with one hand, and shouted into the room: "Uncle, I'm back."

Yang Yan was sitting on the wide wooden ladder, groping for a piece of letter paper with his fingers, and he didn't show any unexpected joy when he heard his voice, he only raised his eyebrows: "Have you settled the affairs of Yuezhou?"

"It's all done according to my uncle's warrant. It rained a few times in the spring of Yuezhou. Now the fields are green and the seedlings are green. This year must be a good year."

Yang Yan smiled lowly: "In the past Wei Changxuan laughed at me as an old farmer who kept talking about farming, but now it seems that you are also a small farmer."

Dugu Hong wailed: "Uncle, I've been rolling around in the mud in the countryside of Yuezhou for more than half a year, and I'm no different from a farmer. When I just entered the door, Steward Fang asked me who I was. It’s almost unrecognizable.”

Yang Yan walked down the wooden ladder amusedly, and reached out to touch his nephew's chest, only to realize that the originally young and strong body had lost a lot of weight, and he could touch the ribs.Then he smiled, and patted him reassuringly: "Let the kitchen cook more of your favorite food, let's keep it for a while."

But Dugu Hong was not dismissed so easily, he muttered: "Uncle, you can't see, I went to Yuezhou this time, and it was like the bottom of a pot, and I couldn't find where I was when I looked in the mirror at night. On my arm..."

He was about to complain about his grievances, but when he heard the door being pushed open with a bang, the movement was so loud that he immediately turned his head around in shock, and saw a tall figure standing outside the door, and couldn't help saying : "General Wei, why do you..."

"Altai," Wei Changxuan hadn't seen him for a long time, but he didn't exchange greetings, he just said, "You go out first, I have something to say to your uncle."

His voice was cold and unfamiliar, which made Dugu Hong a little at a loss. He looked at Wei Changxuan carefully, but saw that there was no smile on his face, and he had sunk to the extreme.Inexplicably, Dugu Hong felt that his appearance was a little dangerous, and he couldn't help but want to stand sideways between him and Yang Yan, but Yang Yan pushed him away from behind, with a low and calm voice: "Altai, you go out first."

After the young man left in a panic, the door was gently closed again, and the air in the room seemed to be stagnant, frighteningly quiet, but it was Yang Yan who spoke first: "Wei Changxuan?"

Wei Changxuan stood not far from him, his breath was completely different from the past, as if he was trying to restrain his emotions: "Yexi, I have something to ask you."

Yang Yan nodded slightly: "What's the matter?"

"The armies of Hexi and Anyang towns have been transferred from the fortress. Do you know about this?"

Yang Yan fell silent for a moment. He stood in the shadow behind the pane and did not answer for a long time.

"It seems that you know it." Seeing that he avoided answering, Wei Changxuan sighed silently, "In addition to these two towns, Guanyou and Pinghu also had troops mobilized, and they must all be served by Feng. Got your warrant."

"The Donghu army has been rotated in the past two years, and they have been transferred. You never asked, why did you suddenly ask today?"

"Because now is not the time to be more garrisoned!" Wei Changxuan took a step forward, "Besides, all these armies have been transferred to Chuanyin Mountain near Luanguan. This place is thousands of miles away from the border, so there is no Donghu garrison army. Why did you come here?"

Yang Yan was quiet, and raised his eyes: "Then what do you think I have other intentions in mobilizing troops?"

Wei Changxuan stared at him closely, and shook his head after a long time: "I have never been able to figure out your thoughts. I remember that in the autumn and winter of the year before last, you ordered people to transport a large number of grain and grass. Planning for the next year's famine. You have far-reaching intentions in doing things, and even if you want to hide something from me, I won't know about it." After he finished speaking, his voice sank again, "But I still have some knowledge about this march. I guess, your sudden dispatch of soldiers and horses must be because there will be wars that need to use these troops and horses."

When he was speaking, he took a few steps forward and almost put it in front of Yang Yan: "Luanguan has Luoshui in the north and Chuanyin in the west. It is the key to enter Jian'an. I think the deployment of troops here is to deal with foreign enemies in the northwest. Then, it will only be Yanyu." When he spoke, he stared at Yang Yan's face, "I have been thinking on the way here that Yanyu and our army formed an alliance at the Kulun River for less than three years, and now we are tearing up the alliance. It was too sudden. Besides, Yan Yu’s grain, grass, soldiers and horses have not moved, why do you know they are going to mobilize troops?”

When he said this, he couldn't hold his breath anymore, and the urgency in his tone was obvious, but Yang Yan's expression remained unchanged, and he just said in a low voice: "Since you asked that question, you should have guessed the answer in your heart, why do you still ask me?"

Wei Changxuan took a deep breath: "Is it really you? You colluded with Yanyu and withdrew the border guards so that they could drive straight in and attack Dazhao?" He grabbed Yang Yan's arm, "Why did you Do that?"

In a panic, he lost the weight of his hands and shook Yang Yan's wrist. Yang Yan was in great pain, but he didn't break free. He just smiled palely: "Why would I do this, Wei Changxuan, I think Don’t you know what you want to get?”

"I know you want a lot of things, you want to get the world, but why..." Wei Changxuan let go of his hand abruptly, with an urgent and painful tone, "Why did you do such a vicious thing!"

Yang Yan seemed to have been pricked by a needle, and quickly calmed down again, whispering: "Is it vicious? But if the world is not chaotic, I will have no chance after all."

"It turns out that you lured wolves into the house to create troubled times so that you could take the opportunity to force Yang Xie to abdicate and ascend the throne yourself. Yang Xie's qualifications are mediocre, and you are a hundred times better than him in terms of talent. If you want to replace him, it's okay." Wei Changxuan said This, gritted his teeth slightly, "But how innocent are the people of Dazhao, what is the territory of Dazhao, are you going to fall under the iron heels of barbarians just because of your personal schemes?"

Yang Yan said coldly: "You also said that I am a hundred times better than Yang Jie. When I ascend the throne, the fortune of the Dazhao Kingdom will only be more prosperous than it is now. As for Yan Yu, since I have a way to drive them to come, I naturally have a way to drive them away , Dazhao’s territory will not be lost even an inch! Don’t you believe me?”

Wei Changxuan laughed, but there was no joy in his laughter. He said coldly, "Of course I believe you. You have Yantu Khan's token in your hand, so you can naturally ask him to retreat. It's just that he broke his promise and refused." Retire, you deploy several armies in Luanguan and Chuanyin Mountains, advance forward and backward, and within a few months, you will be able to drive the Yanyu people out of Dazhao."

Seeing that he had seen his layout thoroughly, Yang Yan couldn't help but slow down: "Then what are you worried about?"

"Your Highness King Mu, you forgot one thing. The lost land can be brought back, but the dead people, can you bring them back to life?" Wei Changxuan looked bitter, closed his eyes slightly, shook his head and said, " If you have never been on a battlefield, you will never know what kind of place it is. Three years ago, Panmenguan fell, and Ganzhou City was massacred overnight by the Yanyu army. Tens of thousands of civilians were massacred, and the entire city was almost Turned into an empty city. According to your plan, this time Yanyu people went south, entered Panmen Pass and Yunxia Pass, the two roads converged, and went straight to Chuanyin Mountain, which is three hundred miles away from Jian'an. At that time, the emperor was at a loss. All the ministers are in a state of panic, and only you are the savior of Dazhao. After that, as long as someone pushes the flames, you can logically replace the useless Yang Jie as the emperor. But have you ever thought that at this moment, half of the territory has fallen? Sea of ​​fire. That is not one city, but thousands of cities exposed to the claws of evil wolves. The Yanyu army has always burned, killed and looted. By the time they attacked Chuanyin Mountain, millions or even tens of millions of civilians had died in the flames of war. , don't you care about it?"

Yang Yan took a deep breath, and then slowly shook his head: "I don't care about that much, Wei Changxuan, I know this is cruel, but in the history of political changes, innocent civilians will die, this is helpless. Being in the royal family Among them, is it rare for father and son to kill brothers and sisters? I can even abandon my own relatives, and there is nothing else that cannot be abandoned."

Wei Changxuan looked at him as if he was looking at a stranger: "You are already King Mu, isn't that enough? Is that what you want to be the Lord of the World?"

"Of course I want to!" Yang Yan said decisively, his eyes were already red, "Wei Changxuan, others may not understand me, but you must. You clearly know what I have experienced, what I have experienced in this mansion. Live so humble, like a useless person. My brother bullied me, abused me, and even threatened me with your life, have you forgotten all of this?"

"Of course I remember, but..."

"Did you know that when Grandma was not married, someone prophesied that her son would become the master of the world in the future, so she was called the noble daughter of Donghu. But after I was born, this prophecy completely became a What a joke, I am a useless blind person, and I have caused my mother to be looked down upon by others. Even my father and grandfather are only sympathetic to me, but more disappointed. Those who originally placed their hopes in me also They all regard me as a useless abandoned son." Yang Yan said this, the corners of her lips slightly raised, as if to laugh, but the tears in her eyes rolled down unconsciously, "But I did not give up on myself, I have come to today step by step, It is to gain the world. I want everyone to know that I am destined to become the master of the world, this is my way, and no one can stop it!"

"Okay," Wei Changxuan seemed startled by the sharpness of his words, took two steps back, and sighed, "In that case, we'll go our separate ways."

"What are you going to do?" Yang Yan sensed something was wrong and asked sharply.

"I became an official as a general. Now that I have heard the news that foreigners are going to mobilize troops, it is natural to gather people and go to fight against the enemy."

Yang Yan sneered in a low voice: "Resist the enemy? You can mobilize less than 2 soldiers and horses at hand. Even including the generals of the Chen family in Huining, it is only 2 people. You lead 20 people to resist Yanyu's [-] iron cavalry, how is it different from sending them to death?"

Wei Changxuan was not angry, but said: "It's true that there is a large disparity in the number of troops in this battle, and there is almost no chance of winning, but as a general, I should be the same as the soldiers, not afraid of life and death. If I really die on the battlefield, it will be my life. Can't blame others."

After he finished speaking, he was about to leave, but Yang Yan shouted: "Stop!"

He stepped forward a few steps and stood in front of Wei Changxuan, with anger already on his face: "You think I don't know your thoughts, you just think that I don't want you to die, so I will give up this opportunity for you, right? "

"Wei Changxuan, don't forget. As I said, this is my way, and no one can stop it," he bit his lower lip hard, and said slowly, "Even you."