That day, Yan Sikong fulfilled the promise he made to Feng Ye in the Lianghu military camp. He warmed a pot of tea for a long time, sat opposite each other, and confessed to Feng Ye about his ten years of wandering.

He revealed almost everything, including what he had done, where he had been, what he had experienced, and how he planned to take revenge on Ge Zhong, Han Zhaoxing, and Xie Zhongren. However, there were two points that he eventually concealed: one was that he and She Zhun had conspired to instigate the rebellion of the King of Liang, and the other was Yuan Nanyu.

Back then, he didn't want Feng Ye to know about Yuan Nanyu's existence because he wanted to monopolize Feng Ye. Now, so many years have passed, it would certainly be a lot of trouble to explain, and it is completely unnecessary.

More importantly, people tend to want to give up when they are in a desperate situation. If he told Feng Ye everything, he would definitely not be able to help but tell him about Princess Wanyang. Today, both he and Feng Ye have shouldered too much. Feng Ye needs a lot of energy to get to know and accept him again. The tension between the two of them has just eased, but he can't say it. He knows he should say it, but he can't.

Feng Ye looked at Yan Sikong with surprise and heartache. The Yan Sikong he imagined was not like this. After all, Yan Sikong after the reunion was indeed not like this. But now he saw the real Yan Sikong, and through those deep eyes, he saw his bottomless ambition and deep hatred.

But he knew clearly that Yan Sikong had penetrated into his bones like poison, which was fatal but difficult to extricate himself from.

Yan Sikong drank a few glasses of wine and before he knew it his face was covered with tears. Feng Ye wiped his tears with his curled fingertips, but he didn't know what to say. The pain he was going through could not be soothed by a few words.

Yan Sikong raised his head and drank the wine in his glass, frowning, enduring the spiciness, and said, "I'm done, it's your turn."

"You want to know how my eldest brother died."

Yan Sikong touched Feng Ye's face and said "hmm" softly.

Feng Ye was silent for a moment, and whispered: "My eldest brother is a general with both wisdom and courage. He could have become a famous general like my father, but he has a shortcoming. No, maybe it should not be called a shortcoming, but it is a taboo for a general. He is too particular about benevolence."

Yan Sikong looked at him quietly.

"He is a true gentleman, strict in military discipline, clear in rewards and punishments, and compassionate to his subordinates. He is well-versed in Confucius and Mencius, and attaches great importance to honesty." Feng Ye sighed, "He believes that 'a gentleman who does not value integrity has no authority', 'a man without integrity is not worthy of trust', and a real man should 'keep his word and fulfill his actions'. He applied these principles to the art of war and has his own way of using troops. He is the person I respect most besides my father."

Yan Sikong remained silent. He had already guessed why Feng Lie died.

"The soldiers he led were loyal to him and willing to sacrifice their own lives. Most of them were good men who valued friendship and righteousness. But my father reminded him many times that you can convince people with virtue or with profit. You have to adapt to the individual. Bees and scorpions are poisonous, let alone people?" Feng Ye's breathing began to become heavy. He clenched the wine cup and took a big sip. He bared his white fangs and said in a deep voice, "His subordinates betrayed him for the sake of great profit. The Wala surrendered falsely. Many soldiers reminded him that it might be a fraud, but he believed the traitor and the Wala general who surrendered falsely. As a result... he was ambushed."

Yan Sikong held Feng Ye's hand.

Feng Ye also shook hands with him tightly. He clenched his teeth, his eyes blazing with ferocity: "The Wala thought my eldest brother wanted to capture my father. My eldest brother fought hard and failed to break through several times, so he committed suicide. He would rather die than see my father submit to the barbarians for him." His eye circles gradually turned red, as red as blood, and his body began to tremble, "Those bastards dragged my eldest brother's body here to provoke..."

Yan Sikong looked at Feng Ye's pale, distorted face and felt heartbroken for a moment. He even regretted asking Feng Ye to reveal the scar, because he knew how painful it was to have a loved one murdered. Once one has experienced it, he will never forget how heartbreaking it is.

"Father knew there would be an ambush, so he endured the severe pain and did not allow anyone to leave the camp to pursue. That was...his, his son." Feng Ye's teeth were clattering. "That year, I was fourteen years old, and father had not yet allowed me to lead the army alone. I stole his token, summoned several hundred loyal warriors to my eldest brother, risked my life to chase after them, shot the enemy general to death with one arrow, and took advantage of their confusion to fight my way out of the siege and retrieve my eldest brother's body."

Yan Sikong said softly, "During that battle, the name 'Little Wolf King' became known all over the world. It was also at that time that I heard about you again."

Feng Ye wiped away the tears that were about to fall, stared at the two people's clasped hands, and choked up: "My father beat me with fifty military sticks, and I lay on the bed for two months... But if it can save my eldest brother's life, I will die without hesitation."

Yan Sikong straightened his drooping hair and said softly, "Feng Ye, you are great. All the men in the Feng family are great. Your elder brother is loyal and brave. He died with honor."

Feng Ye nodded vigorously: "I often think that my father sent me back to the capital to keep me away from the battlefield. He was afraid that I would be young and impulsive and repeat the fate of my elder brother."

"It's good that you understand King Jingyuan's painstaking efforts. You are his only son." Yan Sikong sighed, "Besides, you are impulsive and always take risks. I don't know how many times I have advised you. I am also worried about you."

Feng Ye pursed his lips and said, "Sometimes I reflect on myself, but I am more afraid of missing the opportunity, so I would rather take a risk."

"Your elder brother has his ups and downs in leading the troops, and so do you. You may not be as calm and steady as he is." Yan Sikong lifted Feng Ye's chin, "Feng Ye, we both have a long way to go. Let's survive together and live to the end, okay?"

Feng Ye grabbed his hand and forced a smile: "You're still blaming me. You're also walking on the edge of a knife. How are you any better than me? It's just that you don't see the blood."

Yan Sikong was slightly startled, then smiled bitterly and said, "That makes sense."

Feng Ye refilled the wine for the two of them, raised his glass, and said sternly: "Kong'er, I told you that if you want revenge, I will help you. Xie Zhongren has been a scourge to the world for a long time, and everyone wants to punish him. I will do my best to eliminate the harm for the people, but you must never deceive me again."

"I..." Yan Sikong looked at Feng Ye's righteous and stern eyes. No matter how good he was at acting, he felt guilty and his eyes began to flicker when he thought of Princess Wanyang. But he couldn't speak now, at least not today.

"Kong'er?" Feng Ye looked at him with frown.

Yan Sikong smiled bitterly and said, "I am used to deceiving others. I am still alive today because I never trust anyone. I am afraid of disappointing you."

"Don't you believe me?" Feng Ye stared into Yan Sikong's eyes.

"You are the person I trust most in this world." Yan Sikong said seriously and sincerely, "It's just that I don't dare to pass my hatred on to others. It's too heavy."

"I can bear it." Feng Ye patted Yan Sikong's face and stared into his eyes. "They are worth more than a thousand gold coins. I will carry them with you. I will never let you bear it alone again."

Yan Sikong trembled slightly: "Feng Ye, you are so good to me, how can I repay you?"

Feng Ye smiled and pinched Yan Sikong's nose: "I'll repay you with my whole life."

Yan Sikong hugged Feng Ye's neck, Feng Ye put his arms around his waist, and the two hugged each other tightly.

They stayed up all night, and Yan Sikong told Feng Ye about his plan. The reason why Xie Zhongren, a eunuch, came to power was entirely due to the favor of Emperor Zhaowu. If Xie Zhongren and the huge eunuch party were to be disintegrated, the root cause lay in the emperor.

There are only two ways to achieve this goal. One is to change the emperor, such as Chen Yi ascending the throne, and the other is to make Xie Zhongren lose the emperor's favor. Emperor Zhaowu has been indulging in wine and sex for many years, and his body is exhausted. He will not live long, but the matter of fate can only be left to heaven, and it is difficult for mortals to hope. Moreover, Chen Yi's position as the prince is not stable, so Yan Sikong must pursue these two paths in parallel. First, he must ensure that Chen Yi ascends the throne, which can not only avenge himself, but also rectify the court, purify the world, revive the Dasheng country, and save the people. Second, he must step by step destroy Emperor Zhaowu's favor for Xie Zhongren.

Emperor Zhaowu would not blame Xie Zhongren for the Wang Shengsheng case, but Ge Zhong was promoted by Xie Zhongren. Yan Sikong's forged letter of Ge Zhong's conspiracy also mentioned many times that he would persuade Xie Zhongren to assist King Liang. Although Xie Zhongren cried to Emperor Zhaowu with tears that Ge Zhong was slanderous and fanciful and that he was implicated for no reason, he could not deny the fact that he promoted Ge Zhong in the face of the ministers' insinuations or name-calling advice, which made Emperor Zhaowu dissatisfied with him.

Yan Sikong has quietly killed two of Xie Zhongren's generals - a senior academician and the governor-general of Hunan and Hubei. On the other hand, he has gained the trust of the crown prince, won military exploits, been promoted to the director of the Ministry of Personnel's Selection Department, and personally sent his mortal enemy to the gallows. He can be said to have won a great victory so far, and Xie Zhongren didn't even notice his existence.

Of course, Yan Sikong did not dare to take it lightly. Xie Zhongren had deep roots and great power and could not be easily shaken. If Yan Zilian's aristocratic faction had not taken the opportunity to impeach and pressure him, he would not have been able to achieve this goal by himself. He was still too weak.

After listening to Yan Sikong's plan, Feng Ye felt his hair stand on end. On the one hand, he thought it was unbelievable that such a person could sleep beside him, but on the other hand, he was glad that he was not Yan Sikong's enemy. He used to think Yan Sikong was smart, but now he thought Yan Sikong was so smart that he was almost a demon. At this time, he also began to feel his blood boiling, wishing he could kill the thief right away: "So what are you going to do next?"

"I need you to help me with something."

"say."

"Her Majesty loves and respects Concubine Xian. Although she is not as favored as Concubine Wen, she has never been neglected."

Feng Ye nodded: "I understand."

Yan Sikong asked Feng Ye to ask his aunt to persuade Emperor Zhaowu to establish the crown prince and to gradually dissolve Emperor Zhaowu's love for Xie Zhongren. Emperor Zhaowu was a weak-minded person, and he was a perfect candidate for the alienation plan. He took Feng Ye's hand and said solemnly, "Feng Ye, thank you."

Feng Ye curled his lips and smiled: "I am not doing this entirely for you. Since I was young, I have had the ambition to make great achievements and save the country and the people. Since I can't join the battlefield now, I will start by eliminating the treacherous people."

The two smiled at each other. In each other's eyes, they saw the young man who waved his sword and swore to maintain domestic peace and resist foreign aggression and leave a lasting reputation at Guangning Racecourse eleven years ago.