Crown Sword

Chao Chen rushed to the mountain col, it was still a quarter before Chen Shi, but there was no one in the broken stone house, the charcoal fire was not burned in the stove, the bedding was neatly piled up on the couch, it looked like people had already run away.Just when disappointment and surprise were mixed, Qiao Min dug out some broken money from the low cabinet with half of the door missing——

If a person runs at night, it is impossible not to bring cash.

Since there was an appointment, why did a cripple with a broken leg leave the hut for no reason?Thinking of the three missing Fang Jing, Chao Chen shuddered and prepared for the worst: "Could it be..."

"Do not."

Qiao Min interrupted him, carefully surveyed the inside and outside of the house, and then comforted him: "There is no trace of searching, and there are no scattered footprints or signs of struggle in front of the door. People have been here, Mr. Chao, don't worry."

Chao Chen nodded in reply, calmed down and thought about it, if he left on his own, it would not be difficult to track him down. Ding Gui hurt his leg, and when he walked, one foot was deep and the other was shallow. With the help of a cane, two steps and one hole are more conducive to tracking.

The two separated, carefully screened several roads along the ridge, and finally found the right direction.

In view of the one-person appointment that day, Qiao Min stayed behind, and Chao Chen walked up the weedy path alone, through a low bush forest to the top of the mountain. Ding Gui sat behind a yellow stone, propping up his walking stick, silently Overlook.Hearing the sound of footsteps, he said "Hey", pulled out a not-so-friendly smile, and said, "It's really punctual, every minute is right."

Chao Chen didn't rush to ask, but picked up some leaves, put them on the ground, sat next to the drunk man, and said casually, "What are you looking at?"

"Over there." Ding Gui pointed to an approximate direction.

"Peach blossom?"

Ding Gui shook his head: "Go further back, that valley."

"nothing special."

The two are like old friends, one and one match.

Ding Gui said quietly: "That's a cemetery."

Although Chao Chen is not good at reading, he also knows that tombs and yin houses pay attention to hiding wind and water. Looking at the high ground now, it is obvious that there are no tributaries on the left and right, and the four sides of the cave are not well-connected. In Bashu, a place where ghosts and gods are believed It's unreasonable. Furthermore, the mountains are deserted, not like a burial place where villages live together.

"Whose tomb is it?" Taking another look, the ravens were circling under the blue sky and daylight, and Chao Chen shivered, feeling a little ghostly for no reason.

After a long silence, Ding Gui said hoarsely, "Soldier, Zhang Yu's soldier."

Chao Chen was shocked: "Attack Mianzhu at night, isn't the battle between the two armies under the city?"

"It's under the city. It's just a mass grave where corpses are buried. Young man, you haven't seen a real war. Unless Mianzhu abandons the city and relocates, there will be so many dead and wounded people piled up near the city, and there will be epidemics." Ding Gui put his hands on his shoulders, "I am the one responsible for cleaning the battlefield."

"you……"

"I was originally the deputy general of Deng Qiang, the general of the Qin State Army. That year, Zhang Yu, the king of Shu, returned to Jin, and was ordered by the king of Qin, Fu Jian, to follow the army to attack Shu. Because of Zhang Yu's power struggle with Ba Liao, General Deng took the opportunity to attack. They forced him back to Mianzhu, and then went to Fuxi to wipe out the reinforcements, and the soldiers approached the city of Mianzhu." Looking back on the past, Ding Gui's voice was full of vicissitudes.

Chao Chen said: "Without reinforcements, Zhang Yu will definitely be defeated, and the city will only be broken sooner or later."

"After the internal strife, the two sides divided their forces. Ba Liao defended the south of Chengdu, and his power was weak. In September, Yizhou Mu and the then right general Yang An defeated him. Beheaded (note)." Ding Gui nodded, agreeing with his judgment, and continued, "Zhang Yu is very popular in Shu, and the army and the people advance and retreat together. If we continue to defend Mianzhu, not only the soldiers, but the common people will also suffer. At least from what I know, in order to suppress the rebellion, General Deng had planned to attack at all costs, but at this moment, something went wrong."

"The ram is late?"

Chao Chen could almost imagine that the old swordsman came after hearing the news, and the only choice was——

Not surrendering to the enemy, but capturing the king.

"Yes, Gongyang Chi came here at night and assassinated General Deng. He is indeed one of the seven elders of Jian Valley. It is not easy to defeat a hundred troops, but it is easy to kill one. The knife resisted desperately, but still couldn't catch his sword energy," Ding Gui said with a sneer, and opened the front of his front, revealing a horrifying scar on his chest, where the sword almost pierced him from left to right.

"and then?"

"Then? I never thought that General Deng, who was always brave and good at fighting, was known as the 'enemy against ten thousand people' in Qin, but he could barely fight with him. I have never seen such a swordsmanship. Invite people to die."

Chao Chen said: "Since there is no distinction between top and bottom, no one can kill anyone. As long as the Qin soldiers who are on duty at night are besieging, even the seven elders of Jiangu will not be able to escape unscathed."

"I was wounded on the ground at the time, and I thought the same way. I just hoped that the general would last a little longer." Ding Gui hissed, "But we all overlooked one point. The so-called tie is just a normal fight, but Gong Yangchi He came here with the will to perish together, and wanted to take the head of the general to boost the army and delay Mianzhu's time. After all, the Shu army didn't know that the Jin reinforcements had been wiped out at that time, and they were waiting hard. "

"The sergeants outside the tent didn't know the situation, so they dared not enter the camp. I crawled and crawled, desperately trying to warn, but it was still a step too late. I could only watch General Deng's defeat and pray in my heart. Let's break the game." Ding Gui clenched his fists instantly.

Chao Chen asked, "Have you come?"

"He's coming, but it's not a 'six-star general'. The one who intervened should be a Jiang Hu." Ding Gui's speech speed suddenly increased, "He was covered in black, and he didn't know his origin. He left soon after making the move."

"A high degree of martial arts?"

"It's hard to say. General Deng himself is not weak. Even with the cooperation of a second-rate expert, if the timing is right, it will be enough to regain the upper hand. But since he can come and go in and out of the army, he should be a good martial artist."

As a native of Jin, Chao Chen naturally regarded Jin as Zhengshuo. Whether it was Zhang Yu's rebellion against Qin, or Gong Yangchi's assassination, they were all doing their best for Jin. Such a loss made him really angry.

He then said: "Thinking about it, senior Gongyang must have missed and been captured in the end?"

Ding Gui nodded, looked at Chao Chen and said, "At that time, Gong Yangchi was close to sixty years old, and his temples were graying. General Deng respected him as a man and understood his plan for coming here, so he said he would make a deal with him."

"What deal?"

Chao Chen's heart skipped a beat.

"As long as he is willing to take Zhang Yu's head, the Qin army will never slaughter the city."

It was chilly on the cliff, the wind was strong and fast, Chao Chen heard a buzzing in his ears, but felt the blood rushed to his head, and he was about to pass out when his eyes went dark.He supported Huangshi, and it took him a long time to recover, and he asked urgently, "Then did he agree?"

"At first he didn't. This old fellow kept the festival. He would rather be quartered by five horses than kill his friend. Until General Deng told him that there were no reinforcements in Sichuan." Ding Gui sighed, "It's a pity..."

If there is no reinforcements, it will be a dying struggle.

Chao Chen thought about it, Deng Qiang would make such a request, it is actually not difficult to understand——

In order to achieve the deterrent effect of killing chickens and monkeys, Qin must kill all rebels, so if Zhang Yu loses, he will die, but he has an old friend with Gongyang. , Zhang Yufa left Mianzhu and fled to Jin alone. With his reputation in Shu, he was afraid that he would cause future troubles, and he would teach Jin to add another strong general.

Gongyang came forward late, and he could also take the opportunity to suppress Jiangu and alienate the southern martial arts forces.

As for the massacre of the city, it is just a scare. The war in Guanzhong is a waste of time, and people need to rest and recuperate. If the people are killed, who will plant the land and raise silkworms, the household registration will drop sharply, and the number of soldiers recruited will also decrease accordingly. Suppression can still be preserved as long as it can be maintained, and it can still maintain a lenient image.

With this deal, for him, there is no harm at all.

Finally, Deng Qiang let go of Gong Yangchi.

Back in Mianzhu, the old swordsman and his close friends drank heavily all night and told the news that there was no more reinforcements. Zhang Yu was desperate and wanted to redo the resettlement plan for the whole army, but the Shu soldiers refused to retreat, and they still stick to this place and live together. They died together, and wanted to fight to the death.

On that day, there were fires all around, and black clouds overwhelmed the top.

The gate of Mianzhu City was opened, and the two armies clashed. Gongyangchi had nowhere to go, so he could only make up his mind to assassinate his old friend. Finally, because he had no face to face him, he raised his sword on the city gate and committed suicide. His body fell into the grass under the city. The sword was shattered inch by inch, and there was no return to the sword mound, completely drawing a clear line with Sword Valley.

"At that time, the general retreated to the left and right, and I was the only one who could not move due to serious injuries, so I stayed in the nearby tent to recuperate. Now that General Deng and Gong Yangchi have passed away, I am the only one who knows everything." Ding Gui said.

Hearing this, Chao Chen seemed to have a lump in his throat, and he opened his mouth to ask anxiously, "Then why don't you..."

When the words came to his lips, he suddenly realized that even though Fu Qin had been torn apart, the fact that Ding Gui was a member of the Di tribe still couldn't be changed, so why should he act righteously to help the Gongyang family rectify the name, and Gongyangchi did agree to Deng Qiang's promise Conditions, Kaesong assassination.

After thinking about this, Chao Chen felt sad instead, it would be better if he never knew the truth in the first place: "Then why are you willing to say so now..."

"Mr. Chao, there is no absolute right or wrong when you have different positions." Ding Gui beat his chest and sighed, the light in his eyes flickered, "...just because I feel uneasy."

"In the Battle of Feishui, Your Majesty returned home in a big defeat. More than half of the generals under his command were lost. Fu Rong, the general who conquered the East, died in the rebellious army. Among the 'Six Stars', Yu Mingzhen, the 'secret general' died in Shouyang, and the 'wise general' Feng Mamo Without knowing where to go, the 'Barbarian' Chong Yi, the 'Killing General' Shan Beifeng, and the 'Quan General' Huo Dingchun were all wounded during the cover. After that, Murong Chui, Murong Hong, and Yao Chang successively rose up and established themselves as kings."

"When General Deng Qiang was alive, he taught the prince the art of war. After his death, I transferred to the prince. In the 21st year of Jianyuan, when Murong Chong broke through Chang'an, I was in Yecheng at that time. He will cover His Majesty's escape from Mount Wujiang, and General Zong Pinglu will guard the Tianshu Palace, so as not to let the 'mustard dust net' fall into the enemy's hands, destroy it with his own hands, and fall to his death under the nine-zhang city gate."

"It's a pity, it's sad, it's hateful!" Ding Gui clenched his fist and beat his knee three times, the grief of losing his country made such a tough guy like him burst into tears.

At the time when Fu Jian was in great power, he had millions of strong troops under his command, and he dominated the northern mountains and rivers. In literature, there was the prime minister Wang Meng who was "wiser than Zhuge"; A six-star "wizard", but in the end, he also ended up in a miserable end with a heartbroken Xinping.

Listening to him recounting the past, as a bystander, Chao Chen only felt both sadness and hatred. If he was said to be pitiful, then who would pity the displaced Jin people after the Yongjia Rebellion and the massacre of the Xiongnu?

It would be great if the world is always peaceful and governed.

Ding Gui took a breath and continued to reminisce, fearing that his words would be confusing, he did not address Fu Jian as the Heavenly King or His Majesty, but called him by his first name: "Later, the crown prince, that is, Fu Pi, came to the throne and sent troops to attack Murong Yong. I went out with Zuo Prime Minister Wang Yong, and was defeated in Xiangling. I was lucky enough to save my life in the melee. I was rescued by a farmer when I fled. When I returned to the capital, I heard that Fu Pi had collapsed and passed away. I had no choice but to go to Fu Deng again, until two years ago, Fu Deng was killed by Yao Xing, and there was no Qin State after that!"

Yao Chang inherited the name of the country of Qin, but for them, the Di people, they didn't recognize the country established by the little Hu and Qiang.

Chao Chen finally interjected: "That's when you came here in exile?"

"I went west all the way to Guzang, intending to take refuge in Lu Guang, King of Liang. Although he is also ambitious and self-respecting, he is not as hateful as Yao thief. However, it is God's blessing to survive several catastrophes. The pain left behind made me unable to lead the army anymore, so I walked aimlessly, walked to Xiping, climbed over Que'er Mountain, met Shun'er's family in Xishu, and finally moved to this mountain depression." Ding Gui Chi laughed, his eyes sparkling like ice, "Fate goes back and forth, and it's back to the original point."

"Fate...reciprocating..." Chao Chen raised his eyes, glanced at the dead cemetery behind the scorching peach forest on the other side of the mountain, his heart was beating violently, and he repeated unconsciously.

"At the beginning, the people under my command were responsible for burying those dead bodies. I didn't care about the location. I didn't know until I went hunting in the mountains and met the mountain people who showed me the way." Ding Gui held his heart in his hands, and Chao Chen saw him He finally understood why he felt uneasy.

The two were silent at the same time, only the mountain wind was blowing.

After a long time, Chao Chen asked softly, "Then can you..."

—Can you tell the truth to the public?

He felt unable to open his mouth several times, and he still couldn't finish his words, so he could only keep his eyes empty, staring at the toe of his shoes, and swallowing saliva anxiously.

Ding Gui can also be considered to have experienced three generations of two countries. He didn't know how many times he was on the front line of life and death. break.In fact, he was also a little scared, afraid that Chao Chen would express his thoughts carelessly, because to him, the so-called uneasiness was just killing too much, and he had never regretted the conquest. , can never be soft-hearted to the enemy.

Fortunately, Chao Chen's huffing and puffing gave him a chance to breathe, and he would not press every step of the way. Even if the final result is the same, but forcing him to make a choice is different from making his own choice.

"Sit with me a little longer."

Ding Gui asked to stay, then picked up a green leaf and blew his whistle.

Chao Chen agreed to his request, put his hands on his knees, and leaned against the big rock to listen quietly, but many thoughts flashed in his mind.The person in front of him was stern, and he had no tendency to let go. He knew that there was no hope, after all, this matter involved a lot——

If Ding Gui came forward, the old man was still alive, the past of Deng Qiang's siege of the city was still vivid in his memory, would anyone believe the words of a sloppy, run-down vagabond?If you don't believe me, if you want to prove that he is Fu Qin's deputy general, will he implicate the people in the col? If you believe me, Ding Gui was one of the generals who attacked the city back then, then after he told the truth, what price would he have to pay? .

As he said, there is no absolute right or wrong when there are different positions.

Although Chao Chen really wanted to help Gong Yangyue, but asking him to intimidate and lure others, even at the cost of his life, with his personality and his usual style of doing things, he still couldn't do it.

At this moment, how he wished that the person standing here was Qiao Min. In that case, he would be able to capture Ding Gui without any burden and force him to speak. Then even if there were [-] requests, Gong Yangyue would help him; Or, Gongyangyue himself is here, and after knowing the truth, he doesn't care about other people's opinions at all. He hates Deng Qiang for harming him, and directly kills Ding Gui to vent his anger.

After playing the song, Chao Chen got up and said solemnly, "Take care."

Ding Gui let go, the leaves were swept away by the strong wind and flew towards the cliff.Chao Chen walked around the boulder, turning his back on his back. Every step he took, he felt that his feet were full of lead, afraid that he would not be able to help but look back, and he was afraid that he would not be able to hold back.

Just before he got into the bushes, Ding Gui slapped the boulder heavily and called out: "Wait!"

Chao Chen suddenly turned around.

Ding Gui walked out holding his cane, looked at him and said firmly, "I can promise you, but I have two conditions. One, don't implicate innocent people, and two..."

"Ding Gui, I didn't force you, no matter what you choose..."

Ding Gui interrupted him loudly: "Two!"

Chao Chen shut up and listened silently.

"Second, if I die, please bury me on this mountain, facing that way." The words were sonorous and forceful, and Ding Gui pointed with his hand. It was the direction of Taolin, the place where the Shu army's bones were buried, and the place where Qin's soldiers were buried. The direction of Chang'an, the capital of the country.

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Note: Reference material "Zizhi Tongjian Volume [-]"

Disclaimer: The major historical events have not changed, but Gong Yang Chi is a fictional character, so the assassination related events are fictional!Fiction!Fiction!The record in the history books is very simple, that is, "Deng Qiang attacked Zhang Yu and Yang Guang in Mianzhu, beheading them all".

Another note: For the historical events recalled by Ding Gui in this chapter, refer to "Zi Zhi Tong Jian" + "Book of Jin"

To avoid confusion, I hereby explain: Fu Qin refers to the former Qin, and the emperor’s surname is Fu; Yao Qin refers to the Later Qin, and the emperor’s surname is Yao. There is also the Chang'an scroll at the back).At the same time, Emperor Yan refers to Murong Chui of Houyan, and King of Xiyan refers to Murong Hong of Xiyan (this will be mentioned less, because there is no particularly important plot in Yan Kingdom except for the opening chapter, and Xiyan has been wiped out by Murong Chui at the beginning of the chapter , so there is only one Yan country left).