Bai Yujing

The sky is full of yellow sand, and the dry sand grinds people's throats sorely. In the dim yellow tent, a man with exhausted oil lamps is lying next to the candle, and his breathing in and out becomes slow.

His hair was disheveled due to lying down for a long time, and his face was pale and pale. It was hard to convince people that he was only in his twenties.

An old thick envelope with curled edges was right next to his hand, and he rubbed it one after another, as if subconsciously.

Facing the gray-robed man who suddenly appeared in the room without making a sound, Xia Ying on the bed just raised her eyelids and said, "Is it Lord Yan who came to take my life?"

The gray robe took a few steps forward and sat beside his bed, still not showing his face, "No."

"Then your Excellency came to see me because you have something to tell me," Xia Ying said, "In a little more time, the imperial doctor will come to treat me. If you have anything to say, please say it as soon as possible."

The gray robe stretched out his hand and pointed upwards, "It is clear that there is an elixir of the gods, what are you waiting for, General?"

Xia Ying laughed softly, "The lord Xianguan who came to deliver the medicine said that it's up to me to decide whether to take it or not."

"So it looks like the general doesn't plan to eat it?"

Xia Ying said calmly: "The fairy official said that until the last moment before death, if he takes it, he can be brought back to life."

"I heard that the general tried his best to turn the tide, and the leader of the barbarians broke the coalition between Nan Chen and the barbarians. Nan Chen ceded the land and negotiated peace. The holy Long Yan was very happy. While signing the contract of truce, the general secretly ordered the general to take the opportunity to attack Chen south and rule the world?"

Xia Ying's eyes suddenly became sharp, and she looked at the gray robe with a little more scrutiny.

"General, don't be so surprised. If I want to see it, I can see any secret decree." The gray robe said without any emotion.

"Even your heart," the gray robe pointed to his heart, "I can see it."

"General, you want to resist the order."

Xia Ying lowered her eyes, her guard suddenly relaxed, she chuckled and said, "Your Excellency is really direct."

Three or two soldiers' voices could be heard from far outside the barracks. They were still immersed in the joy of sweeping away the foreign enemies and preparing to return in triumph. These people who survived the disaster did not know the emperor's secret decree.

The Xia family has worked for the Northern Zhou Dynasty for hundreds of years, Xia Ying too well understands how short-sighted the current emperor is, but who always seeks vengeance.

"Which generation and king don't fight, and see peace from chaos..." Xia Ying murmured softly a little poem taught by her teacher when she was a child, "Nowadays, there are more bones than dirt, and it's like sending local soldiers to serve as garrison soldiers."

The young major general can see more clearly than anyone else.

"Too many people died in this battle," Xia Ying said, "Whether it's civilians or soldiers, too many people died in Southern Chen and Northern Zhou."

"Wars, famines, people's livelihood..." He said softly: "The foreign enemy has been eliminated, the contract has been concluded, it is time to stop. Breaking one's trust will only force the other party to fight to the death, and both sides will suffer."

"A general shouldn't be so tender," said the gray robe.

"Then, do you think that disregarding life is tenderness?" Xia Ying looked at the gray robe, with a bit of plain anger hidden in her eyes.

The gray robe did not answer his question, but asked: "Is this the reason why the general has not taken the elixir?"

Xia Ying smiled, her disheveled face could not conceal the young general's arrogance, "If I die, the emperor will not dare to send troops to attack Nanchen, will he?" Xia Ying is not a blind and humble person, he is stronger than anyone else. Understand your own value to Bei Zhou.

"If one general succeeds in his career, his bones will perish," he said, "It is not the way of a gentleman to just seek one's fame and wealth without regard to the livelihood of the people."

"The general dies in a hundred battles, the strong man returns after ten years, Xia Ying never dies all," he calmly narrated his death, so calmly that people forget that he is not yet thirty years old.

"Death at this time is my best destination."

"But you still have concerns?"

Xia Ying was silent for a long time before saying: "I have a friend who made an appointment to see you again when we parted. If I die, I'm afraid I will miss the appointment."

General Xia was raised in the barracks since he was a child. He is proficient in all eighteen martial arts. , like a handful of gorgeous fireworks to the extreme.

Now that the fireworks are scattered, the light is fleeting, and between the ashes and dust of the gunpowder, he still misses someone.

His fingertips rolled over the letter in his hand, and his chest heaved slightly.

The gray robe stopped talking, but let Xia Ying fall into deep thought.

In fact, to this day, those days back then are like a dream to him.He didn't know what love is before, and he never thought about why he fell in love with Changsheng at first sight, as if he owed him in the previous life, so that he was destined to love him in this life.

Compared with other mortals, his life has been considered vigorous.He has even seen gods, the third prince of the heavens, goblins, gray robes and Shi Tianqing whose identities are unknown, and medicines given by immortal officials.

But he didn't have the chance to meet his only love again.

After taking the elixir, he will be able to return to his original state. If he successfully wins Nanchen, he may be crowned a king and a minister, leave a name in history, become a famous general passed down from generation to generation, and even see longevity after achieving fame.

Changsheng's letter said that he would come to him after another 20 years.

But the land of Kyushu really can't stand the war anymore, the fields are barren, children are sold out, and human flesh is eaten raw...

Maybe he is indeed just like the gray robe said, he is not suitable to be a general at all.

He removed the quilt, picked up the envelope that he had been caressing in his palm, and held it in front of his eyes for a long time. Finally, he gently put it into the charcoal basin. Hot fly ash.

It takes a long time to write a letter, but only a moment to destroy a letter.

Xia Ying closed her eyes and looked away.

"There is a secret compartment in the box next to the sand table, and there is a brocade box in the secret compartment, please get it for me, Your Excellency."

The gray robe paused, and handed the item to him as he said, but Xia Ying didn't take it, but looked at the brocade box and said: "My lord said, this medicine is not an ordinary thing, except for me, Never give it to the second person. I have a beloved horse named Red Fox. It has been fighting with me for many years. It is quite spiritual. I want to give it this elixir. If it can make him get a fairy fate and turn into a spiritual thing , it can be regarded as my repayment.”

"Horse..." The gray robe hesitated for a moment.

"What? You can't even give me a horse?" Xia Ying was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly, "That's all."

Xu Shi described the dim eyes on his haggard face as too distressing, the gray robe shook his head and said, "Yes."

Xia Ying seemed to have received some kind of gift, and finally put on a smile, "If that's the case, I will trouble Your Excellency."

The gray robe stood up, looked at the young man in front of him, covered his hood again, and disappeared in an instant.

There were so many horses in the stables, one after the other, chewing hay, that it took him little trouble to figure out which one was a red fox.

I heard that when Xia Ying went to fight against the barbarians, she didn't take the red fox with her, but one day the red fox broke through the reins by herself and traveled thousands of miles to the border of the northern barbarians. Xia Ying under the knife of the enemy.

"It's a fine horse with a soul."

The gray robe looked at it from a distance, and with a flick of a finger, the brocade box opened by itself, and the elixir flew out of it, and just happened to be mixed into the forage in front of the red fox.

The red fox took the mouthful of forage calmly and chewed it carefully. After a long while, it suddenly raised its head and let out a neighing sound that resounded to the moon.

The pupils of the gray robe shrank suddenly, but he heard his neighing more and more horribly, as if his voice was about to burst. Under the bleak moonlight, for no reason, a chill appeared from head to toe, soaking in the bone marrow , I just feel infinitely sad.

It is clearly just a horse, how can it understand sadness.

The gray robe lightly frowned, and was about to step forward to check the situation, but the red fox suddenly cut off the reins as if desperate to the extreme, and let the blood gurgle, the outstretched limbs jumped up, and the horse's hooves with spouting muscles stomped heavily. The figure is like the wind, rushing forward like an off-string arrow.

Almost at the same time, a mournful cry came from the tent in the distance:

"The general... is dead!"

The red fox, who seemed to be insane just now, suddenly stopped, as if the young general was still sitting on his back, and suddenly reined in the reins.

It froze in place for a long time, and people couldn't help but wonder if it understood everything.

The moonlight shrouded the yellow sand, and the red fox pawed the horse's hooves on the spot. After a while, he suddenly reversed direction and ran into the boundless yellow sand...

The gray robe lowered his eyes. Amidst the countless howls, he finally did not approach the general's tent, but raised his hand. The tiny light spots flew into the tent one by one like fireflies. He let go of his hand, and turned his figure Disappeared in the yellow sand.

Xia Ying felt that he had become very light, the pain that had been on his body since he practiced martial arts when he was young, disappeared completely for a moment, he seemed to see a group of fireflies flying towards him, behind the group of fireflies, there was a man watching A gray-robed man with an indistinct face.

He wanted to ask aloud, but it seemed that his throat was blocked by someone, and his ears were filled with the sound of mourning, which made his ears hurt. In the noisy voice, he seemed to hear someone talking to him, but he couldn't find the source , until the voice became clearer and clearer, he realized that it was actually coming from his heart.

"It's me, Gray Robe." The voice was very familiar, "I came here just to give this memory to the general after his death. From now on, I will protect the general's memory from being erased by anyone , consider it my thank you to the general for his benevolent heart."

"Memory?" Xia Ying seemed to be able to speak again, "Mine?"

The gray robe stopped talking, and the world suddenly became quiet, even the loud mourning sounds disappeared, until someone shook his arm and said helplessly: "Young Master, Young Master? Why are you asleep! We should go to bed!" car."

Xia Ying suddenly opened her eyes, and found that she was sitting in the carriage, and in front of her was a driver with a bit of simplicity, looking at him eagerly:

"Master Suyuan, we're in Yingzhou—"

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The author has something to say:

What generation and king do not fight, and see peace from chaos.Nowadays, there are more bones than earth, and it is still necessary to point out rural soldiers as garrison soldiers. ——Wei Zhuang's "The Compassionate Farmer"

A general dies in a hundred battles, and a strong man returns after ten years. ——"Mulan Poetry"

According to Jun Mo's words to seal the marquis' affairs, one general will succeed and his bones will dry up. ——Cao Song of the Tang Dynasty "Jihai Years"