After looking at each other for a moment, Chang Suining seemed to be truly sure that the person who suddenly appeared in front of her was not an illusion.
She then dismounted.
Cui Jing subconsciously raised his hand to help her, but saw that she was still agile and jumped down steadily.
He then withdrew his hand silently.
The next moment, the girl looked at him seriously with her clear almond-shaped eyes and said, "You have lost weight."
Cui Jing's eyes fell on the top of her head for a moment, and he said softly, "You are taller."
"Maybe it's because I didn't open an umbrella in the house?" Chang Suining said seriously.
Cui Jing was stunned for a moment, then smiled: "Yeah, that's right."
Chang Suining looked at him and a smile appeared on his face.
Just as she was about to say something else, Captain Bai, who had dismounted his horse and was walking quickly towards her, said in surprise, "...General Cui?!"
He and Cui Jing were acquainted in the capital and enjoyed Cui Jing's trust, which was why Chang Suining had "borrowed a horse" from him before.
No acquaintance without lending. At first, he just borrowed a horse, but now he even "lent" himself, and he is about to become one of Chang Suining's right-hand men.
Cui Jing and Captain Bai nodded.
Captain Bai quickly saluted him, then lowered his voice and asked, "Why is Commander Cui here?"
"By secret order."
Captain Bai was surprised and breathed a sigh of relief.
I see.
He even thought that Commander Cui had suffered a rebellious attack and was willing to leave his post and travel thousands of miles to secretly meet General Ningyuan!
Soon, the people brought by Chang Suining came forward to salute Cui Jing. Most of them had never had the chance to see Cui Jing's true face. At this moment, facing this famous general of Xuan Ce Army, they all looked at him with bright eyes, full of admiration, respect and curiosity.
Captain Bai was about to speak, but was interrupted by Yuan Xiang who came over: "...Captain Bai, can you bring back the head of the thief Xu?"
Captain Bai: "Of course!"
Just as he was hanging there.
Yuan Xiang looked eager: "Can I take a look too?"
Captain Bai: “?”
It's just a human head, what's so good about it?
But Yuan Xiang had already pulled him away and called on the brothers of Xuan Ce’s army to go and see together.
Everybody went there. The people brought by Chang Suining couldn't just stand in front of Cui Jing, so they bowed and withdrew. They gathered around to look at the head of the thief Xu, although... they didn't know what was so special about it.
But the main point of life in the military is to be sociable.
Seeing this, Chang Suining, as the owner of the head of the bandit Xu and the "master", also warmly invited Cui Jing: "General Cui, do you want to go and take a look?"
Cui Jing: "...That's not necessary."
As he spoke, he raised his right hand and took off his cloak.
The cloak fluttered in the wind, carrying the clean and refreshing scent of grass, and fell on Chang Suining's body.
Chang Suining looked up slightly in surprise and looked at the young man in front of him.
But he lowered his eyes and didn't look at her, his gaze fixed on his fingers as he tied her cloak.
There was no expression on his face, for he had a pair of exceptionally cold eyes and brows, and when he showed no expression, he looked very calm and indifferent. But only he himself knew that at this moment, under her serious and inquiring gaze, although he seemed to be meticulous, his heart was actually beating like a drum.
This strange feeling that shouldn't appear in him only occurs when he is facing her.
But in comparison, it is more important to tie a cloak on her.
She was wearing armor, but because she had been in the water all the time, the robe under the armor had never dried, and there were drops of water hanging on the corners of the robe.
When the spring wind blows, it is still a little chilly.
But at this moment, the chill was blocked by this cloak.
Cui Jing withdrew his hand, seemingly calm, and said something in a random voice: "Okay."
"Thank you." Chang Suining raised the corners of her eyes with a smile, and raised her hand to lift out the ends of the ponytail that was pressed under the cloak behind her neck.
Her hair was also half wet, and she had no idea where her helmet had been lost while she was chasing Xu Zhengye.
Cui Jing looked at the blood on her body, face, and hands: "Are there any wounds on vital parts?"
There was no need to ask "Are you injured?" With such a close attack and her personally chasing Xu Zhengye, injuries were inevitable. She must have suffered a lot of injuries.
Chang Suining shook his head: "They are just minor injuries."
Cui Jing still said: "Let's get on the horse and talk."
He looked at her and said slowly, "Thank you for your hard work."
"Yes, a little bit." Chang Suining let out a light breath with a relaxed smile on his face.
She really could not walk much, so she followed the advice and climbed back on the horse.
She subconsciously looked in the direction of Bianzhou and Luoyang.
In fact, it was more than just a little hard, it was very hard, but it was "worth it" if I could kill Xu Zhengye.
In Bianzhou and Luoyang, not a single plant or tree was affected.
In the Jiangnan area, those displaced people will soon be able to return home. The pain that has been caused cannot be undone, but being able to return home is the greatest comfort at the moment.
When Chang Suining looked into the distance, his fingers subconsciously reached for the reins, but caught nothing.
She looked away and saw that the reins were held in Cui Jing's hands.
He stood by her side, holding her horse and walking slowly forward.
Chang Suining was surprised for a moment, then stretched out his hand: "How can I let you lead the horse for me? I'd better do it myself."
After all, he is the general of the Xuan Ce Army, and many people are watching him.
"Why not?" Cui Jing looked straight ahead and said, "You are General Ningyuan who has once again made great achievements. It is appropriate for anyone to lead your horse."
Her hands were injured and the reins were rough.
He didn't care about the looks of others or his subordinates, or rather, he didn't think it was beneath his dignity to hold the horse for her.
Seeing him like this, Chang Suining no longer insisted on taking back the reins, as she happened to have something to ask him.
Now everything had been settled and there was no need to rush. The soldiers and horses were very tired, so they walked slowly and took a break.
Cui Jing was leading the horse for Chang Suining in front, while Captain Bai Yuanxiang and others, as well as dozens of Xuan Ce soldiers brought by Cui Jing, were behind, most of them also leading the horses or sitting on the horse's back and walking slowly.
As the horses walked, they wagged their tails and nibbled on the tender grass.
Having just experienced a bloody war, this brief moment of leisure seems even more precious.
The scenery along this journey is very beautiful, with clear winds, green grass, and far away from human habitation. Both people and horses can feel the natural comfort and healing given by heaven and earth on this journey home.
But being too relaxed is not a good thing. The nearly one hundred people and horses following behind stretched their heads to look at the two people and one horse in front of them, wishing they could break their necks.
Captain Bai seemed quite calm, without showing any sign of scratching his head, but in his heart he once again felt regretful that "I wish I had been born a fly so that I could have the freedom to gossip."
As for why they didn't take a closer look? Did they not want to?
No, it was Yuanxiang who didn’t allow it.
Yuanxiang walked in front of them, like a shepherd's hound, watching over the flock behind him and not allowing any sheep to leave the group.
The Grand Commandant finally got to see Madam Chang. He would not allow anyone, no, anyone, to disturb their conversation.
Since they were not allowed to gossip at close range, everyone had no choice but to curry favor with Yuanxiang, calling him Brother Yuanxiang one by one and trying to hear something from him, even if it was just some scraps.
Yuanxiang's status today is exceptionally outstanding.
Everyone was whispering in the back, and tacitly divided into two factions. The Xuan Ce Army belonged to the passionate and bold faction, while the "Ningyuan Army" was five parts reserved, three parts implicit, and had a two-point sense of superiority in front of the Xuan Ce Army, which they never expected in their lifetime.
The bold and unrestrained faction repeatedly praised enthusiastically: "Your General Ning Yuan is really amazing..."
When talking about his own Grand Commander, he took on the attitude of Wang Po selling melons: "Look, our Grand Commander has so much work in his eyes!"
He not only gave them cloaks, but also led their horses... He was so attentive that he could randomly make several members of the Qinghe Cui clan faint.
"Did you intercept Xu Zhengye's 10,000 elite cavalrymen?" Chang Suining asked Cui Jing.
"Yes." Cui Jing answered her: "I secretly dispatched a thousand men to intercept Xu Zhengye's cavalry."
Chang Suining looked at him.
Trying to stop ten thousand with one thousand, if someone else said this, they would be regarded as arrogant and ignorant, but he was Cui Jing, and he led the Xuan Ce Army.
If ordinary Xuan Ce soldiers can fight ten at a time, then in his hands, one can fight a hundred at a time.
As the saying goes, it is easy to get thousands of soldiers but difficult to get a good general. This is exactly the case.
Chang Suining asked him again: "How do you know their marching route so well?"
In the past, when she spoke to him, she would always include "General Cui" in every sentence. But since they said goodbye that night at the Tiannu Pagoda, she knew that he knew her secret. Now that there was no one else around, she changed the way she addressed him tacitly and naturally.
She called "Cui Jing" on the left and "you" on the right. Others might think it was a bit rude, but to Cui Jing, it sounded particularly pleasant.
When answering her question, his tone was particularly gentle and patient: "Their marching route is not difficult to find out."
At least it wasn't difficult for him.
Chang Suining then asked: "Did those Xu troops surrender to you?"
"Yes, they surrendered, but they are still in the rear and are being brought here." Cui Jing explained to her: "What you saw just now were not Xu Jun, but bandits wearing Xu Jun's uniforms."
Chang Suining looked at him: "Bandit?"
Cui Jing told her what happened: "On the way from the northern border, I encountered a group of bandits blocking the road. They wanted to steal my horse..."
There is no need to elaborate on the process in between, but in the end, these bandits packed up their belongings, surrendered and followed him.
Chang Suining: “…”
When being robbed, you have nothing, but after being robbed, you have a large family and a lot of wealth?
These bandits would also pick people to rob.
Cui Jing: "Among these people, there are many capable ones. Becoming a bandit is not what they want. If you don't mind their background, you can recruit them for your own use and let them work under you in the future."
So, is this considered kidnapping someone for her? Chang Suining, who was in great need of talent, thanked Cui Jing very unceremoniously.
So, it was those bandits who stripped off Xu Jun's military uniforms and rode on his war horses.
Xu Zhengye looked at them from afar and thought they were his own soldiers, thus he misunderstood them.
Of course, it is not ruled out that Cui Jing did it on purpose to confuse the vision. Otherwise, why would he let those people wearing Xu army uniforms lead the way in front?
The marchers had their own plans, so there was no need to ask about them in detail. Chang Suining was more curious about: "Xu Zhengye had already fallen into your trap just now, why didn't you kill him?"
"This is your contribution." Cui Jing said, "Just take it for yourself."
Chang Suining was stunned for a moment, then asked him, "So, is this also the reason why you have not shown up in person and have not gone to Luoyang to meet Li Xian and Xuan Ce's army?"
Is it because you don’t want to take away her credit?
Come to think of it, if he were in Luoyang, once Xu Zhengye heard about it, he might back down and not fall into the trap she set.
She had thought of many reasons just now, but she never expected that the reason was so simple, yet something she had never seen before.
Cui Jing agreed.
"If I show up, I'm afraid it will alert the enemy." He said, "Besides, if the Xuan Ce Army participates in this war, even if your name is on the merit list in the future, it must at least be shared equally with all the other forces. If someone with ulterior motives in the court spreads rumors and blurs your merits and plans, in the end they will probably still blame you for Xu Zhengye's coming to Luoyang."
In particular, he knew Li Xian quite well.
If this person gets involved, he will definitely take all the credit to the greatest extent possible.
By then, the most that would be left for her would be the four words "offset her mistakes with her merits".
She had planned all of this herself. Outsiders should not help her, but at least they should not rashly disrupt her plans, take away the credit that belongs to her, and accuse her of non-existent faults.
In this matter, he is also an "outsider".
The reason why he "stayed out of it" was because he knew that she didn't need a hero to descend from the sky in times of crisis, because she herself was one.
What he had to do was to ensure that her plans were not disrupted and to deal with any possible incidents for her in secret.
No one would know he had been here afterwards. In this glory that belonged to her, he didn't need to have any name.
Chang Suining held the horse's back for a while before he said, "But how did you know I had set an ambush here?"
During the time he had been missing, she had not contacted Yuanxiang. To prevent the news from leaking out, she had not let Yuanxiang leak any information in advance.
Cui Jing turned his head and looked at the girl on the horse: "You told me a long time ago."
Chang Suining was stunned: "How did I tell you?"
In a dream? "You told me in the manifesto," Cui Jing said, "You said you would kill Xu Zhengye, and you will definitely do it."
Chang Suining smiled and said, "Then shouldn't I tell everyone in the world?"
She once used that paper to announce to the world that she would kill Xu Zhengye.
But among all the people in the world who were unaware of the truth, he was the only one who believed it.
He believed that she would do it, and believed that she was not just talking nonsense.
Moreover, his trust was not vain and was not just lip service. This trust was very "solid", so solid that he analyzed step by step how she would set up the plan.
And, where no one could see, he cut off any possible trouble for her.
Before today, she knew nothing about this.
At this moment, she heard the young man who led her horse say, "I know you don't care where the credit goes."
But he cared for her.
Because: “But you need to take the credit that’s yours.”
She needs to use the prestige gained from these achievements to do more of what she wants to do.
Chang Suining said: "No, I still care about it. It's such a great achievement."
Cui Jing smiled.
"Cui Jing..."
Hearing the shout, the young man turned his head again and looked at the person on the horse with gentle eyes.
Chang Suining looked at him, her bright eyes and white teeth all showing a smile: "Thank you."
"No need to thank me, I didn't do anything."
"Thank you for holding my horse."
This time, Cui Jing did not say that there was no need to thank him, but smiled and said, "It's my duty."
The next moment, Chang Suining leaned on the horse's back, lowered his body slightly, and moved closer to him. His voice became much softer: "I have one last question for you."
After a battle, relax for two chapters to catch your breath (づ￣3￣)づ╭Good night and continue to ask for monthly tickets (づ￣3￣)づ╭
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