Feng Zhi took it and read it, then smiled and said, "Your Highness, Prince Xuan's handwriting is messy, and it looks like he is drunk."
Yan Xun shook his head and smiled, he still had a lot of friendship towards this sworn brother, they had known each other for ten years, so it was extraordinary. He said happily, "He's in a good mood." After saying that, he suddenly showed a bit of childishness, thinking that if he sent it back, he wondered if this kid would be mad. He picked up the pen and wrote on the letter: We have known each other for ten years, but I didn't know you felt this way. You are so stupid. On the day Daxia withdraws its troops, my brother will go to Song in person to propose marriage. I wonder if you dare to agree? Feng Zhi saw this and laughed, "Your Highness, Prince Xuan will be furious if he sees this."
"Then wait and see him go crazy."
Yan Xun put the letter away solemnly, placed it neatly on the paperweight, laughed, and went out with Feng Zhi and A Jing in a good mood. Chu Qiao had not been feeling well these past few days and was still lying in bed. Today, as the sun was shining, she got out of bed, put on her clothes, and walked towards Yan Xun's study room with the chestnuts she had just peeled. Luliu was taking a nap and she didn't even hear her get up. She must be very tired.
Pushing open Yan Xun's door, Chu Qiao found no one inside. She placed the chestnut on his desk and saw that there were a lot of official documents and only a fingernail-sized piece of candle was left on the candlestick. It was obvious that he had stayed up all night again. She couldn't help but feel a little distressed. Just as he was about to ask the kitchen to prepare some dishes for him, he accidentally touched a letter on the desk with his sleeve.
The envelope was extremely exquisite, with a faint fragrance. The letter fell from the table and dropped to the ground. It was half opened, revealing the white letter paper inside. Two lines of handwriting suddenly caught the eye. Chu Qiao was slightly stunned when she saw it, and she squatted down involuntarily and pulled out the letter.
Suddenly seeing this sentence "There are trees on the mountain and branches on the trees, I love you but you don't know it", her heart ached. It was not her handwriting, and she was not good at reciting poems. Her fingers felt colder and colder, and she quickly turned the cover of the letter, thinking of Prince Xuan of Song. Suddenly, some things became clear in her mind. She took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly, wanting to get rid of the resentment, but she felt even more depressed.
Looking down, he saw Yan Xun's handwritten reply. There was a loud bang in his head and he almost lost his balance. His brows were tightly furrowed. Thousands of thoughts popped up in his mind, and he had thousands of reasons to overturn them. However, they were no match for the black and white words in front of him.
A trace of chill attacked her skin, as if countless cold tentacles were crawling up from her heart, completely wrapping up her frail body. The sky was dim and the sun was invisible. Her heart gradually became dark, leaving only a vast white hole, shining miserably in her lifeless eyes.
A thought gradually emerged from the bottom of my heart and slowly merged into a sentence: It turns out that the so-called lifelong companionship is nothing more than this.
"No!" Chu Qiao stood up suddenly, with a sharp look in her eyes. She would never believe this unless he told her in person! She, Chu Qiao, would never be deceived like this!
The pain in her body suddenly disappeared, she ran back to her room, put on her fur coat and walked out. Lvliu followed behind in panic, calling out miserably, "Girl! You're not well yet, where are you going?"
Chu Qiao ignored her, turned over, mounted her horse, and rushed towards the first military camp.
However, when she arrived at the military camp, she was not allowed to enter. The soldiers of the First Army did not recognize her, nor did they believe what she said, but they resolutely stopped her at the door. At this moment, she heard a shout in her ears. Chu Qiao turned around and saw that the person was very familiar. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be Du Ping'an who had followed her in the chaos that day.
Ping An was overjoyed when he saw her. He ran up to her and shouted, "My Lord, I finally see you. I have been wandering outside your palace for three days, but they wouldn't let me in. Now that you are here, I am happy!"
Chu Qiao was slightly stunned and asked, "Do you have something to ask me?"
Ping An was also stunned, and then asked back: "Sir, don't you know?"
"Know what?"
Suddenly, Du Ping'an's face changed drastically and he shouted loudly: "Sir, something big has happened!" The sky was gray and the wind blew the remaining snow across the ground. In the central square of the Second Army, the two groups of people were quietly confronting each other. The navy blue cowhide soft armor wrapped around those battle-hardened young bodies, and the veins on the hands holding the knives were bulging. Yan Xun was wearing a black battle robe. The curtain of the central army tent was opened. He sat on a chair covered with white tiger skin, looking at the people outside with cold eyes. He said calmly, "So, you are going to rebel again?"
A cold breath hit them in the face, and the sharp edge of the words was even more piercing. The officers and soldiers of the Southwest Town Envoy's face turned purple, and they were obviously trying their best to control their emotions. He Xiao stood in front of the crowd. The young general was not handsome, but his sharp features and iron-blooded military aura made him look fierce. At this moment, he stretched out his hand to stop the excited soldiers behind him, frowned and said slowly: "Your Highness, you promised us that you would let bygones be bygones."
"I didn't break my promise." Yan Xun smiled faintly, raised his eyebrows slightly, and his eyes flashed with indifference and contempt, "The one kneeling outside is not a traitor, but a deserter."
"We are not deserters!"
Suddenly, an angry shout was heard. In the center of the square, more than 30 soldiers wearing the uniforms of the Southwest Town Envoy knelt in a row. Behind them were the cold swords of the First Army. A young soldier shouted excitedly: "No matter who it is, they can't burn our flag!"
A tattered white flag with a red cloud and stained with blood was thrown on the ground. One corner of it had been burned, leaving a large black and uneven area.
Yan Xun glanced at him calmly and snorted with disdain, "The Southwest Envoy disappeared from this world three days ago, so what's the point of the military flag? You attacked friendly forces and left the city late at night before the battle. This is treason. You disrespect military regulations so much. If we let you get away with it, what military law will Yanbei have?"
Yan Xun's voice suddenly became sharp. His eyes swept across those unwilling eyes sharply. He suddenly waved his hand and said coldly: "Betrayal is the greatest sin. I can forgive you the first time, but not the second time. Come! Put these people to military law. Anyone who refuses to obey will be treated as an accomplice!"
"Your Highness!" He Xiao raised his eyebrows and took a step forward. However, with a swish sound, a bright sword light suddenly flashed by, and the swords of 20,000 guards were unsheathed at the same time, with an astonishingly fast movement. In a flash, swords and knives were thrust upon them, but no one made a sound. The soldiers of the First Army also stepped forward together. The archers took out the arrows that had been prepared long ago, bent their bows and drew their strings, and the arrows flew everywhere, looking ferocious.
The soldiers of the Second Army were all stunned. They had been with the officers and soldiers of the Southwest Town Government for some time. They had fought side by side in Beishuo City, so they came here today to show their support. However, seeing the posture of Yan Xun and the First Army, they were somewhat helpless.
There are now less than 1,500 Southwest Town Envoys left. They stand in the center of an army of more than 10,000 people, unarmed, with their fists clenched and their faces flushed. Facing the cold arrows and blades, their eyes are so angry that they almost spit fire. He Xiao looked around, finally took a deep breath, and said in a deep voice: "Your Highness, are you going to kill us all?"
Yan Xun smiled in an unfathomable way, his eyes were gloomy, like the bottomless sea, "Commander He is a meritorious official, so he cannot be compared with those traitors."
"Your Highness!" He Xiao's eyes were red and he slowly took a step forward. Twenty imperial guards rushed forward and put sharp knives on his neck, but he was not afraid. He spoke in a deep voice, word by word, "In the battle of Zhenhuang, six thousand officers and soldiers of the Southwest Town were killed; in the battle of Chidu, four thousand officers and soldiers of the Southwest Town were killed. General Feng Ting was hit by dozens of arrows, but he still fought. General Murong set an ambush at Baizhang Cliff. After running out of arrows and rocks, he used fire to stop the enemy and buried them alive. Under the flames; General Wudanyu led 500 people and delayed the army of hundreds of thousands of Daxia for three days, and finally rushed into the chaos alone and died in the chaos; in the Battle of Beishuo, we were alone and strong, supporting the border city, defending the city wall, and not retreating a single step. The loyalty of the Southwest Town Envoy is evident to heaven and earth, and witnessed by tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians in Beishuo City. He Xiao is not convinced that Your Highness treats loyal ministers like this! "
"How dare you!" Major General Qiu Yi of the Third Guard of the First Army suddenly stepped forward and shouted. He was now the deputy commander of Yan Xun's Imperial Guards and a young general who was recently promoted from the bottom by Yan Xun. He said in a deep voice, "How dare you, a mere commander, speak rudely to His Highness? You yourself were not strict with your subordinates, but His Highness didn't bother with you. Now you dare to commit crimes against your superiors. Do you still know what military law is?"
"Your Highness!" He Xiao knelt on one knee, his eyes firm, and said loudly, "The two thousand soldiers of the Southwest Town Government have all sincerely surrendered. Your Highness, aren't you afraid that this trip will chill the hearts of the people of the world?"
"He's going too far!" Feng Lu, the deputy commander of the First Army beside Qiu Yi, shouted, "Take him away!"
The guards immediately stepped forward and twisted He Xiao's arm. The soldiers standing behind He Xiao rushed forward and the situation was in chaos. He Xiao shouted, "Your Highness! Even the surrendered soldiers of the Batuha family have a foothold. Why do you want to kill all of us, the Southwest Town Envoy? He Xiao does not accept it! He Xiao does not accept it!"
"Stop it." Yan Xun said, his voice was not loud, but it was full of majesty. He looked at He Xiao coldly and said slowly, "Commander He, I am only dealing with the soldiers who escaped from Beishuo last night. It has nothing to do with you. I hope you don't get involved. Otherwise, don't blame me for disturbing the morale of the army."
"Your Highness, they did not defect. They fled the city in a panic to protect the military flag. They were being hunted down..."
"Military orders are military orders! I don't want to hear explanations, I only look at the results! If everyone has an excuse, how should I, Yan Xun, command the army?" Yan Xun raised his eyebrows and said sharply.
He Xiao's eyes were red, and he shouted, "Your Highness!"
"Execution!"
"Your Highness!" He Xiao shouted and rushed forward, followed by two thousand officers and soldiers of the Southwest Town Government. Upon seeing this, the guards drew their swords from their waists and rushed forward like a tide, hitting the enemy on the head. It was ten against one, and for a moment, blood splattered and there was a loud noise. The First Army was plundering the periphery, the square was in an uproar, only the people of the Second Army were standing outside watching blankly.
Qiu Yi shouted at the sergeant who was enforcing the military law: "What are you still standing there for? Kill them!"
"When the rabbit is dead, the dog is cooked; when the bird is dead, the bow is put away. Yan Xun, you are ungrateful and treacherous. We really misjudged you!" Wen Yang, the secretary of the Southwest Town Envoy, knelt on the ground. He was the first to discover last night that the First Army had taken away their twenty military flags and burned them in the First Army camp. The situation happened suddenly and there was no time to report to He Xiao. Wen Yang led more than 30 civil servants from the secretariat and rushed into the First Army on horseback, snatched back the military flag, and fled out of the city. At this moment, he was pressed to the ground, his face pressed against the cold snow, still shouting.