Chapter 180 Chapter 180 is the only genuine version...
Jiang Wu never thought that after so many years, when he was living like a rat in the gutter in the huge capital, he would still meet the Gu family.
"It's not...me." Jiang Wu stammered.
The little beggar looked around, seeing Jiang Wu's face trembling with fear. He was so happy that he couldn't wait to say, "That's right! He's a deserter."
"Damn brat!"
Jiang Wu roared at him.
The little beggar wasn't afraid of him. He stiffened his neck and said, "Little aunt, I'll tell you everything. He followed the Duke to the Western Frontier. Later, the Northern Frontier Army sent a pension, saying he'd died in battle. I even cried for him, kept vigil, and burned paper for him."
"I'm not lying. Not long after, my family back home stole his pension money and drove my mother and me out, saying my mother was unlucky and they took our land. We begged all the way south, and my mother wanted to take me to my uncle. But then..."
The little beggar raised his finger and pointed at Jiang Wu, saying bitterly, "We met him on the road, he's alive!"
"He's not dead."
The little beggar's resentment towards Jiang Wu had been building for a long time. He was desperate to add insult to injury. "He wanted to run away when he saw us. Then my mother pulled him back, wanting him to return home with us and take back the land and house. Since he wasn't dead, he shouldn't have to accept the compensation from the Northern Frontier Army. He refused to go back because he was afraid to go back. When they were arguing, I heard him say that the Duke died in the swamp and he escaped."
"He's a deserter!"
Jiang Wu was panicked and scared: "I'm going to kill you, you damned brat!"
He wanted to pounce, but Gu Zhizhuo pressed down with the dagger in his hand, leaving a wound on his neck. Now he didn't dare to move anymore.
The little beggar hid behind Gu Zhizhuo and spat at him with a "Puh" sound.
"Go on." Gu Zhizhuo said.
The little beggar gnashed his teeth and said, "He refused to go back. My mother wanted to divorce him, but he refused and wouldn't let us go. He beat and kicked my mother and even dragged us to the capital."
"He was poor and loved to gamble. He would go gambling at dawn every day. When he lost all his money, he would drink. After drinking, he would beat people. My mother ran away with me three times, but he caught her every time. He broke her legs, so we couldn't escape."
The little beggar bared his teeth, wishing he could bite him to death.
"I'm her man, hit me if you want, you can. You're talking nonsense, I..."
Wow.
"I told you to shut up."
Gu Zhizhuo raised his hand, and the sharp blade slashed across his cheek, and then one of his ears fell off.
Wow! The little beggar's eyes sparkled with excitement.
Jiang Wu was so frightened that he froze.
If a knife was pointed at his neck, he would only be afraid that the other person's surname was Gu.
So now, he was afraid that the other party would really kill him.
The little beggar ran over and stomped hard on his ears twice, angrily saying, "...He forced my mother to do embroidery to support him, and she was nearly blind. Then one time, he got so caught up in gambling that he threatened to chop off his hands if she didn't pay, so he sold my mother. He also forced me to go out and steal silver, saying that if I didn't bring it back, he'd sell me into the palace as a eunuch."
The little beggar's face was full of hatred.
"I gave him all the money I stole, and he gambled it all away."
If he hadn't known his mother's whereabouts and refused to tell him where she was sold, he would have stabbed him to death.
"Oh."
Gu Zhizhuo snorted coldly. She twisted her wrist and slammed the hilt of the knife into Jiang Wu's temples, knocking him to the ground. Gu Zhizhuo stepped on him, leaving mud on the sole of her shoe.
"In the Northern Frontier Army, to be promoted from a soldier to a centurion, one must have fought in at least ten battles and killed a thousand enemies."
She looked him up and down with contempt.
"Looking at your character, could it be that the centurion stole it from his fellow soldiers?"
"Kill the enemy and make merit, do you dare?"
"On the battlefield, you hid among the dead and survived by stealing, right?"
These words, tinged with mockery, were like sharp blades stabbing into Jiang Wu's heart, cutting him to pieces with blood.
Gu Zhizhuo took out the small round card and turned it frontward towards him.
"All your comrades are dead, and you, a deserter, are the only one still alive. Do you deserve this?"
"Stop talking!" Jiang Wu held his head and screamed.
Fighting his way from a soldier to a captain was the greatest honor of his life.
Even now, he instinctively couldn't stand anyone slandering him.
"explain!"
Gu Zhizhuo stepped even harder on him and shouted, "Did you betray the Northern Frontier Army and kill the Duke of Zhenguo, so you pretended to be dead and ran away?"
"No, it's not me..."
Jiang Wu stretched his neck and screamed, "I didn't betray the Northern Frontier Army. I wasn't the one who betrayed the Duke."
"Who is that?"
"Yes..." His throat rolled and his voice became hoarse.
"Do you think you can live without telling me?" Gu Zhizhuo laughed sarcastically, staring at his conspicuous belly and saying, "Your liver is swollen and there's blood in your abdomen. You won't live more than three months with this illness."
Ah? The little beggar was surprised and delighted at first. Great!
He said excitedly: "I have already kept vigil for you and burned paper for you. Now that you die, I will not do it again."
Jiang Wu looked at his stomach. His liver hurt so much that he couldn't breathe at night. He thought it was from drinking too much.
Gu Zhizhuo looked at him coldly.
"You escaped. How have you been these past three years?"
"Have you ever dreamed of your comrades?"
The little beggar said sarcastically, "Even if he's dreaming, he's still gambling. He's just a gambler and a drunkard!"
Gu Zhizhuo chuckled, "What have you been up to in the past three years? You're a deserter, abandoning your comrades. From now on, you're no longer a member of the Northern Frontier Army."
She threw the round plate into the air and swung it down with her dagger.
The short knife cut through the iron like mud, and the round plate snapped into two.
Boom! Boom!
The sound of two consecutive blows hitting the ground struck Jiang Wu's heart.
He stared at the round card that had fallen to the ground and crawled over step by step on his knees.
"There's nothing more to ask." Gu Zhizhuo sheathed his dagger and walked towards Xie Yingchen. "It's just the man on the throne who wants to use the name of Xiliang to eliminate the Northern Frontier Army."
There is no doubt about this.
It was only three years later that she saw the people who had conquered the Western Frontier with her father, and she wanted to know more about what happened back then.
I wonder how my father, who has experienced countless battles, could die so easily in a swamp...
This was like a thorn stuck in Gu Zhizhuo's heart, and every time she thought of it, it pricked her and made her bleed.
Jiang Wu held the round card that was broken into two halves tightly in his hand.
The round plate has rusted.
He hasn't dared to face it for a long time.
He thought he wouldn't care even if he lost it, but it turned out that he couldn't care less.
"yes!"
"It's the emperor." Jiang Wu said with all his courage and strength.
Gu Zhizhuo stopped and didn't look back. She didn't feel the slightest bit moved by this answer.
Xie Yingchen took her hand and held it in his fist.
The most difficult words have been said, and it will be easier to speak later.
Jiang Wu's alcoholic smell had mostly dissipated, leaving him with an indescribable sense of dejection.
He has never forgotten what happened back then in the past three years.
The last line of defense in his heart collapsed at this moment.
"The Emperor has issued a secret decree ordering the Duke to force Xiliang back west of the Jialan River and capture the seven border cities of Xiliang."
"This secret decree was personally brought to Western Xinjiang by the Emperor's uncle."
Gu Zhizhuo slowly turned his head.
"After receiving the secret order, the Duke decided to pursue immediately and not give the Liang Kingdom a chance to regroup its troops."
"At that time, I was under the command of the Duke, and was a scout."
Scout... Gu Zhizhuo closed his eyes and slowly turned around.
Scouts determine the marching route.
The scouts went first, and the army followed. If the scouts deliberately concealed the swamp...
"You deliberately led the army to the swamp?"
"No! I didn't."
Jiang Wu shook his head vigorously. "After I discovered the swamp on our marching route, we were ambushed."
"I'm different from ordinary people. My heart is on the right side, so I'm lucky enough to survive. I understand the Liang dialect, and I heard them say that the Liang Kingdom's eldest prince, Duoleng, took the initiative to write a letter to the emperor, convincing him to get rid of the Duke of Zhenguo. In exchange, the Liang Kingdom is willing to submit a letter of surrender and not invade for ten years."
"After Liangren left, I crawled out of the pile of corpses. I wanted to report to the Duke, but..."
Having almost died once, Jiang Wu is particularly afraid of death.
"The one who wants the Duke's life is the Emperor. Even if the Duke can escape this time, what good will it do? Can he escape the next time, or the time after that?"
If I go back now, I will only die with the Duke.
So Jiang Wu hesitated.
"So, I ran away secretly."
Jiang Wu covered his face with his hands. The cold round plate was pressed against his forehead. The rusty surface pricked his skin, causing a slight pain.
"I escaped from the Western Frontier."
“I didn’t betray, I had no choice.
After finishing his words in one breath, Jiang Wu collapsed on the ground, like a puddle of mud, except for his unusually large belly.
The little beggar looked at him with disdain.
He usually beats and scolds his mother and him, but now he doesn't even dare to speak loudly. Bah, what a waste who can only bully his own family.
"Yaoyao."
Xie Yingchen called her and their eyes met. Gu Zhizhuo immediately understood what he meant and took half a step back.
The young master never interferes with her affairs, so there must be a reason.
"Jiang Wu?"
Jiang Wu looked up cautiously.
Jiang Wu didn't recognize Xie Yingchen, but he could easily notice his nobleness and majesty that made people dare not look directly at him.
"You have two choices."
Jiang Wu saw him open his lips slightly.
"First, deserters in battle will be executed."
Jiang Wu shuddered, his lips trembling violently, and he didn't even dare to beg for mercy.
"Secondly..."
Xie Yingchen deliberately paused for a moment.
"I will take you to Duke Cheng'en's mansion."
solitary?
With this one word, Jiang Wu immediately understood his identity and his whole body trembled even more violently.
"Tell him that you know the agreement between the emperor and Duo Leng."
Jiang Wu slowly raised his head.
He didn't understand his intention, he only knew that if he did this, he would be walking into a trap.
"Choose."
Xie Yingchen made a gesture, and Chongjiu's long sword was placed against the back of his neck. As long as he chose one, his head would fall off immediately.
"Count to ten."
After saying that, Xie Yingchen took Gu Zhizhuo's hand, turned around and walked out, as if he didn't care about his answer.
Just as Chongjiu lifted the door curtain and counted to three, Jiang Wu was so frightened that he cried out, "Two, two! I choose two, two."
"Chongjiu, you go and do it."
Chongjiu agreed.
"You're almost dead anyway, so tell me where you sold my mother to! If you tell me now, I might even burn a couple of pieces of paper for you later. Otherwise, you'll be tortured by the underworld's ghost messengers when you get there without the money to buy your way out..."
The little beggar's voice was isolated behind the door curtain. Although the smell in the alley was not pleasant, it was not as stuffy and hot as inside.
Gu Zhizhuo said, "Sir, he will definitely tell Lord Cheng'en that it was you who instigated it."
This person is afraid of death and is not honest.
He deserted the battlefield and kept making excuses for himself, as if he had no choice. But in fact, he could treat his own wife and children like this, so what kind of good person could he be?
Xie Yingchen said gently, "He will definitely tell you."
Gu Zhizhuo: “…”
That's right! Her emotions were somewhat out of control, so her reaction was a little slow.
The young master deliberately used his own name to let him know his identity. In order to survive, he would tell Cheng En Gong everything, saying that the young master threatened him.
"Lord Cheng'en is timid and cowardly, unfit for important positions," Xie Yingchen said slowly as they walked. "He acts disorganized and easily manipulated."
Gu Zhizhuo thought of the fight between him and King Jin at Sanliting and burst out laughing.
She leaned her head on his arm and listened to him say, "He's worried that he'll be the next person the Gu family will deal with. He'll persuade the emperor to use Xiliang to regain power."
"Master is right. Great fortune is on our side. This is a great opportunity."
"Now, Duke Cheng'en has been entrusted with the task of arranging Xie Jing's marriage. I've reviewed all the documents. The Princess of Liang will depart soon, but the bridegroom has yet to be chosen." Xie Yingchen held her hand, carefully avoiding the mud on the ground. "Originally, I was leaning towards the Four Princes, but now it seems that Duoleng is more suitable."
"Um?"
Gu Zhizhuo raised his eyebrows.
"You're coming of age next month. I'll bring Duoleng to the capital to give to you, okay?"
"good!"
Gu Zhizhuo narrowed his eyes slightly and nodded in response.
"Sir, tell me about Xiliang and Duo Leng."
Xie Yingchen knew much more about Xiliang than Gu Zhizhuo.
"The Liang Kingdom has a tradition of the son inheriting the father's throne, and the younger brother inheriting the elder brother's throne. The current King of Liang is the previous king's younger brother, and the eldest prince, Duoling, is the legitimate son of the old King, Moza."
"The princess Xie Jing is going to marry is the daughter of the current King of Liang. She was born to a dancer and raised by Duoleng's mother. This queen, in Daqi's words, has been the queen of three dynasties. The previous king's father, Moza, married Duoleng's mother as his third queen when he was old. Moza died of illness when Duoleng was still pregnant. His son succeeded to the throne and inherited not only the throne, but also the queen and Duoleng. After the previous king's death, the queen and Duoleng were inherited by the current King of Liang."
Hmm.
Although Gu Zhizhuo also knew the Liang people's tradition of the son inheriting the family line after the father's death, she still felt a little confused when talking about the relationships between these people.
Gu Zhizhuo counted on his fingers for a long time and finally sorted it out.
Seeing that she had finished snapping her fingers, Xie Yingchen chuckled and said, "According to Liang Country's tradition, this eldest prince, Duo Leng, is the first heir."
"However, the King of Liang is not willing to let Duoleng succeed him, and Duoleng knows this very well. The two of them are now at odds with each other."
Gu Zhizhuo seemed to be thinking about something.
The young master did not want to wait any longer. He wanted to use the internal strife in Liang to tie Duoleng and the emperor together.
Force the emperor to take the initiative to attack the young master.
Xie Yingchen smiled slightly, and the two looked at each other.
He absolutely didn't want to see Yaoyao dying again.
He wants to rule the world!
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