Ao Xi did not stop, and General Zuo reached out and grabbed his shoulders.
Ao Xi frowned slightly, spun around and broke free from the restraints.
It would not be difficult for him to escape given his skills, but Xia Luoran was afraid that he would abandon her and run away, so she kept holding on to him. In addition, General Zuo kept pressing on, so they were in a stalemate for a while.
The sparrows inside heard the noise and ran out in a hurry to help, but were dissuaded by Ao Xi's eyes.
The next second, a team of soldiers marched in unison and surrounded Ao Xi and Xia Luoran.
"General Zuo, are you okay?"
"No problem."
The soldier turned to Ao Xi and shouted, "Who are you and why are you fighting with General Zuo?"
“…”
Ao Xi did not answer. He stared at the totem on the soldier's armor that represented the He family army, and looked at General Zuo with inquiring eyes.
General Zuo is over fifty years old, but he still looks as heroic as ever. At first glance, he seemed familiar. But after looking closely, he looked very much like Huang Ziyang, the vanguard under General He Wei.
Huang Ziyang saw that Ao Xi seemed to recognize him and his face was anxious, but the sound of their fighting attracted passers-by, and many people gathered around to watch the fun.
Due to the large crowd, Huang Ziyang pointed to the inn and asked, "Can I have a moment to talk?"
Ao Xi looked around. His brothers were eager to try, and the soldiers were watching him eagerly. He looked away and nodded, "Okay."
-
Outside the wing room, soldiers were guarding the door.
Inside the room, Ao Xi and Huang Ziyang stood face to face, neither of them speaking.
Huang Ziyang stared at Ao Xi's eyebrows, his eyes red. After a long while, he said, "I can't believe that Third Young Master, you're still alive. Great, it's great. The old general finally has a successor."
Compared to Huang Ziyang's excitement, Ao Xi was much calmer. Apart from the fact that things and people had changed, there was another main reason.
When General He Wei led his troops to attack the west, the vanguard he led was none other than the General Zuo in front of him.
After He Wei fled from the battlefield, Huang Ziyang defeated the enemy in one fell swoop and was named Left General.
Although He Wei's escape may not be related to Huang Ziyang, Ao Xi cannot afford to take the risk.
On the surface, he stood quietly, but secretly, his toes were already pointing at the second-floor window, ready to run away at any time if the situation went wrong.
Huang Ziyang was so overwhelmed with emotion that he burst into tears when he saw the son of an old friend. He did not notice Ao Xi's little action at all. Although he was already a general, he kept chattering to Ao Xi like a fool, recalling the past when he and He Wei fought on the battlefield.
Ao Xi could see that Huang Ziyang was still the same as he was back then, always putting He Wei first. When Huang Ziyang mentioned the battle against Xi, Ao Xi couldn't help but ask, "What happened back then? Why did Dad suddenly return to Beijing?"
"This..." Huang Ziyang, who was originally chattering non-stop, suddenly got stuck.
"Could it be that my father really deserted the battlefield?"
"No!"
Huang Ziyang's voice suddenly rose, and the blood vessels on his forehead burst. He gritted his teeth and said, "The old general has been a soldier for half his life, and he is definitely not a coward."
"Then why did he suddenly return to Beijing?"
Huang Ziyang took a deep breath and said with determination, "The old general did it for the He family army."
...
It turned out that when He Wei was ordered to attack the west, he led 100,000 He family troops on a long journey to the border to join up with the soldiers guarding the western frontier, so it was not difficult to repel the enemy.
However, when they reached the border, the granary caught fire before the battle even started, and then the armory was stolen.
The strangest thing was that many soldiers in the army were infected with smallpox. There were rumors that people from the Western Regions were good at sorcery, and it must be their magic that made them surrender without a fight.
He Wei naturally would not believe these nonsense, not to mention that the He family army he led had always been invincible and did not take these unorthodox tricks seriously at all.
However, it was not until the two armies engaged in battle that He Wei truly realized their conspiracy.
The strict deployment before the war was all ineffective when the actual battle started. The He family army followed He Wei's orders, but the soldiers at the border were like a pile of loose sand, and even retreated to the back, leaving the He family army to charge into battle.
He Wei discovered the clues. He keenly realized that the enemies of the He family army were not only the enemy in front of them, but also the "colleagues" behind them.
The general guarding the border is the King of Qi's man. This time the emperor sent He Wei to lead the troops in order to divide power. As long as he wins this battle, he can take back the last piece of lost military power, and the King of Qi will be completely finished.
When the emperor just ascended the throne, the Prince of Qi served as the regent and controlled the government for many years. He not only had many disciples, but also had good relations with the military generals in the court, so the emperor could not touch him.
The only variable was He Wei. Like a sharp sword, he pierced into the King of Qi's tangled web of relationships and forcibly cut a bloody path.
Later, the King of Qi failed to decentralize power and withdrew from the court to return to his fiefdom. After only a few years of peace, he unexpectedly colluded with the Western Regions.
He Wei, who had been on the battlefield for many years, quickly figured out the whole story. However, even though he knew the King of Qi's conspiracy, he and the He family army were now trapped and unable to escape.
At the critical moment, He Wei made a bold decision.
The King of Qi wanted to get rid of him. As long as he died, the emperor would have no useful generals around him, and the military power would naturally fall into the hands of others.
He Wei understood that this trip was a one-way trip from the very beginning.
However, He Wei knew clearly that the King of Qi wanted to get rid of him. As long as he was dead, they would not go to great lengths and suffer heavy losses to attack the leaderless He family army.
So, in that battle, He Wei became a deserter.
When two armies are fighting, anyone who deserts the battlefield will surely die, and even the emperor cannot save him.
After He Wei "escaped", there was a brief period of unrest on the battlefield.
However, the vanguard Huang Ziyang quickly took over He Wei's position and led the soldiers to fight bravely.
The He family army became famous and achieved its goal. The enemy had no desire to fight and became "weak", and was defeated without a fight.
As for He Wei, he became a laughing stock of the world because he was a deserter and his head and body were separated.
...
Huang Ziyang's eyes welled up with tears as he spoke of this. "The old general used his own life to exchange for the lives of the He family army. I wish I could take the old general's place, but the old general said that only one of him and the He family army could survive."
Ao Xi gritted his teeth and said, "So, the emperor knows about my father's injustice."
"yes."
Seeing the coldness on Ao Xi's face, Huang Ziyang explained, "Even if the emperor knew the old general's difficulties, it is a fact that the old general returned to the capital without permission. As for the trap at the border, there is no evidence. Therefore, the emperor can only... can only issue an order to execute all male members of the old general's family."
Ao Xiluo closed his eyes. His chest felt like it was stuffed with a ball of cotton, and it made a rustling sound with every breath he took.
According to my father's personality, he would choose to be loyal to the monarch even if the entire family was executed, let alone the male members.
When he was alive, he often said that the country comes first, then the family.
He dedicated his entire life to the court, and it didn't matter even if he became a criminal and was infamous for eternity.
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