"Yue Qi, no matter how bad our family is, it is where you and I have lived since we were young. No matter how bad Da Xia is, it is still our homeland. Now our homeland is in trouble both internally and externally, with strong enemies waiting to take over. How can you and I bear to light another war in this devastated land?"
Yue Qi was stunned when he heard this, but then he heard Zhuge Yue continue, “What’s more, Zhao Che’s kindness to me is by no means a drop of water.”
Zhuge Yue left after he finished speaking, leaving Yue Qi standing there in a daze, thinking carefully about what Zhuge Yue had said.
He didn't know what he felt deep down. Subconsciously, he knew that the young master was right. However, when he thought about what had happened in the past two years, a feeling of grief and indignation built up in his chest and he couldn't get rid of it. Does the young master really not care at all?
Of course Zhuge Yue cared.
A short chuckle was heard in the dark bedroom.
How could I not care about those days when I was a child, struggling to survive in the family like a beast? How can I not care about the frustration of setting off on expeditions with full enthusiasm but being hit in the end? How could he not care about the saliva and humiliation that would come his way when he escaped from death?
Can't forget, even if I die.
He didn't want to think about how he had just felt, or what kind of intense waves Yue Qi's words had stirred up in his heart.
A man is as firm as an iron until his death. He rushes around all his life, but what is he really looking for? Isn't it about making great achievements? Not to stand out? Wouldn't it be possible to become a supreme ruler overnight, able to call the wind and rain and have hundreds of people respond to his calls?
It is a fatal temptation, and for any man, it is marijuana that he can never quit.
After he escaped from such a desperate situation, there was no warmth and kindness towards him. He became infamous, abandoned by his country and family, and became the public enemy of Daxia in an instant. He is not a saint, how can he have no hatred in his heart?
Perhaps it was just as Chu Qiao said, when he saw Da Xia being defeated again and again under Yan Bei's offensive, he would inexplicably feel a sense of relief in his heart. When Great Xia was becoming increasingly corrupt and in chaos, he had thought about leading his army eastward to replace Great Xia, to avenge his previous humiliation with strong military force, and to look down upon those filthy faces who had once trampled on his head.
But when he really wanted to take that step, he backed off.
Those who were still hungry and cold on the Qinghai Plain looked at him eagerly, and those who generously took him in when he had nowhere to go were still waiting for him to bring them a winter where no one would die.
Yes, he couldn't tell Yue Qi, nor could he tell those subordinates who had always followed him. They would stare at him with wide eyes and ask: Young Master, are you going to give up the prosperous Simon for a few bumpkins from Qinghai?
Yes, they are just descendants of death row prisoners who have been trudging in prisons for generations, and they are just some bumpkins who are ignorant of the teachings of saints. If it were in the past, he would have thought so too, and sneered with disdain, saying that a real man should make choices and have lofty ambitions, instead of being sad and hesitant like a woman. But something changed him after all. When he was infamous and abandoned by the world, someone opened a warm door for him. Even though the door was shabby and the house was leaking, he sat there and drank the warmest mouthful of porridge in his life.
At that moment, he suddenly understood Chu Qiao, the girl who always told him to wait and see with a tenacious look on her face.
He thanked God, without such an opportunity, he might never understand her, nor the joy of creating and protecting her. He was surprised to find that the joy was no less than the feeling of conquest and destruction.
As for Daxia, as for grudges, as for the struggle for hegemony over Simon...
He slowly closed his eyes and said to himself: I can tell what is most important.
Yes, he still needs to fight, to maneuver, to use his own abilities to maintain and to fight for what he wants. He still needs to game his brains with those in the government and the opposition, and he still needs to fight against those with different political views on the battlefield.
Even though he had no ambition to seize Daxia, he was unwilling to sit idly by and watch it decline and fall into the hands of others.
Besides, he can no longer retreat now. When he led his troops out of Cuiwei Pass, when he took over as Sima of the Ministry of War of Daxia, and when he single-handedly stopped Daxia from launching a war against Bian Tang, everything was already a foregone conclusion.
He recalled the oath he and Zhao Che made on the cold land of Donghu when they were at the end of their rope, and a hint of coldness appeared in the corner of his eyes.
At this moment, a pair of calm eyes suddenly looked over through the dark mist. The gaze was so gentle, but it revealed a hint of sadness that could not be concealed.
He closed his eyes quietly and stroked the white wall of the cup with his fingers.
He smiled slightly, his smile was bitter, like cold snow.
Everything begins after the end. They are always like this, meeting at an inappropriate time and leaving at an inappropriate time. Fate pushes them on a path where they cannot see the way back, stumbling and having a bumpy journey.
The room was pitch black, with a faint ray of moonlight shining through the window, casting a cool glow on him. After all, he is just a young man in his twenties. Although he has experienced so many twists and turns and hardships, he sometimes dreams of returning like a hero after a hundred battles, making great achievements, and then presenting everything to the person he likes, and saying with great confidence: Here, it's all yours!
But, it can only be a dream after all.
He leaned back in his chair, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, and he smiled gently like a big child. The weather is the most unbearable cold right after the snow stops. The strong wind blows the mugwort, and the ground is covered with red.
The sky was covered with dark clouds and cold winds were blowing. The white snow on the ground was picked up and fell on the newly completed Shuofang Palace.
The war in the east temporarily stopped, the Quanrong in the north were also repelled, and the soldiers retreated back to the interior, as if preparing to celebrate a rare New Year.
Early in the morning, all the shops on both sides of Wuxuan Street were closed. The long street was covered with fine yellow sand to prevent the palace horses and carriages from slipping, and from a distance it looked golden, as if the ground was paved with pure gold. Tall golden curtains were erected on both sides of the road. Civilians had retreated, and civil and military officials were kneeling on both sides. Various ceremonial guards were moving slowly forward in clear formations. For a moment, the canopies and carriages were like clouds, and the sleeves of brocade robes blocked out the sun and the sky.
Today is the day of winter hunting in Yanbei. The old man with a good memory recalled that the last winter hunting was twelve years ago.
Zhongqiu Xiyuan was the hunting ground of the successive kings of Yanbei. It was located in the center of the Sunset Mountains, with the Huihui South Peak behind it. It was a vast white wilderness with a slightly reddish land. No one knew if it was originally this color or if it was soaked in blood.
Yan Xun, wearing a heavy sable fur coat, sat on a high throne. In front of him were many shadowy figures. From afar in the wind and snow, they looked like two pitch-black wings. All the officials knelt tremblingly under the royal chariot, their knees aching and cold, but they dared not look up. Only Ah Jing quietly raised her head, but could not see Yan Xun's face at all.
"Master Zhuang."
A cold voice came from above, and an old man in his fifties suddenly trembled, the muscles on his face trembled slightly, he slowly stood up, knelt in the middle, and said in a respectful voice: "What do you want, Your Majesty?"
"Nothing, I just got a fun thing recently, and I want to invite Master Zhuang to enjoy it with me."
Yan Xun's voice was clear with a hint of smile, like a cunning and willful child looking forward to some kind of mischief.
Lord Zhuang knelt on the ground, his fingers turned white, his brows furrowed, but he still lowered his head and replied calmly: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for thinking of me."
Yan Xun smiled, his eyes were full of playfulness, he waved his hand lazily, and said, "Bring it up."
A rustling sound was heard slowly, and a carriage entered the venue. The carriage was covered with black coarse cloth, and faint sounds could be heard. Everyone turned their heads in surprise and looked at the carriage. There was a dead silence in the field, making it hard to breathe.
Suddenly, there was a snapping sound, and everyone in silence was startled. It turned out that Yan Xun was sitting on the throne boredly, hitting the golden chair with the handle of a whip.
Snap, snap, snap…
Everyone looked solemn and no one dared to speak. A guard in his thirties walked up to the first carriage, raised his hand, and lifted the black cloth on the carriage with a swish.
"Wow!" The low exclamation was like a sea, with splashes spreading across the entire venue. Everyone looked a little panicked, but no one dared to raise any question.
I saw that on the carriage was a group of young girls around sixteen or seventeen years old. All of them were very beautiful, but in such cold weather, they were leaning against each other naked, their faces were pale, and their arms were tied.
Lord Zhuang took one look and froze in place. Even though the weather was so cold, beads of sweat the size of beans began to roll down his forehead.
Yan Xun's laughter sounded behind him. He said calmly, as if he was talking about eating and drinking, "Master Zhuang is the cornerstone of Yanbei. He has been very kind to me over the years. Please let me fire the first arrow today."
The cage on the carriage was opened, and the soldiers walked up rudely, punching and kicking the girls and pushing them off the carriage. They were all barefoot, and suddenly stepped on the cold snow, stirring up a patch of pink and red.
"Run! Run!" The soldier swung the whip and whipped hard. Bloody marks immediately cut through the flesh and were hideously imprinted on the backs as white as mutton fat. Sharp screams followed.
Their hands and feet were released, and they could only cover the wounds on their bodies in a haphazard manner and stagger away.
The guard brought a bow and arrow to Master Zhuang, and Yan Xun urged him quietly from behind: "Master Zhuang, hurry up."
Lord Zhuang's face was ashen, his lips were bloodless, he slowly put the arrow on, slowly bent the bow, his fingers trembling.
The girls were stumbling across the snowy field, their young bodies shining brightly in the sun. They seemed to sense the crisis and turned around in panic. When they saw Lord Zhuang holding an arrow, they were suddenly stunned.
whoosh!
A sharp arrow was suddenly shot out, but it had no strength at all. It only traveled a short distance before falling weakly to the ground.
"Master Zhuang, this doesn't seem like your ability."
Yan Xun spoke slowly, with the corners of his slender eyes slightly raised, looking at Lord Zhuang coldly, but as if he wanted to see through his skin into his heart.
Lord Zhuang stood there, wanting to say something, but in the end he couldn't utter it. His whole body was shaking slightly. An official below was discussing quietly, "I heard a few days ago that a group of palace maids tried to assassinate the emperor. Could this be all?"
"Cheng Yuan, since Master Zhuang is old, you should come."
"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty."
The general in green fur coat walked forward, drew his bow steadily, and with a whoosh, the arrow, as if it had eyes, firmly nailed the girl who ran the farthest. A short scream sounded in the wilderness, and a large amount of blood burst out from the girl's chest, spilling on the white snow, bright red and glaring.
The other girls were horrified when they saw this. One girl who had been kneeling and crying suddenly collapsed and screamed. She staggered and tried to climb onto the throne, shouting as she climbed: "Sir, save me! Sir, save me! Mr. Zhuang, I am...ah!"
A shrill scream suddenly rang out, and a young girl not far from her suddenly jumped forward, grabbed her throat, and with a twist of her hands, she broke the crying girl's neck.