Novoland: Eagle Flag Chapter 2: Sword One

[History]

In the library of Tianqi City in the third year of Daxie Shenwu, the curtain opened, and the smiling young man held his gun in his hand.

The man picking the qin in the sarong didn't look up, and the qin was tinkling.

"There was a disturbance in the middle of the night, Taifu Xiang made atonement, today the northern fire and horse rushed to report, General Lu captured the northern capital, and continued to go north. When the army arrived, all the tribes returned after hearing the news, and the herdsmen greeted them with horses and lambs," the young man said. The man waited respectfully by the door, like a servant delivering a message.

The sound of the piano stopped, and there was a moment of silence in the sarong.

"The north is the homeland of leopards after all, it's not something we can plot," Taifu sighed in a low voice, "Does the guardian know?"

"Not yet, my lord will stay in Dr. Ximen's dormitory to recuperate tonight. It is said that the headache has occurred again."

"Okay."

The zither sounded again in the sarong.

"We worked hard overnight, and the Tianqu Legion suffered heavy casualties. Now it only occupies half of the land in East China. General Lu broke through with Qingqi, and ruled the Hanzhou Grassland in March. The effort it took is really incomparable, Taifu What's your opinion?" The young man didn't retreat.

"What does Grand Master Xie want to ask?" The Tai Tuo's voice was indifferent.

"Ask for the Tao from the Grand Master, and ask about heroes."

"What about being a hero? So what if you ask, Grand Master Xie has never been a hero in his life."

"If you hear the truth in the morning, you may die in the evening."

"Okay. Then let me say that the so-called heroes are just lunatics, do you believe it or not?"

The grand master was stunned for a moment, and then returned to his smile: "The grand master is as profound as the sea, why don't you believe it? But please explain it to the grand master."

"All living beings in the world, many people envy those who command thousands of troops and command the wind and rain, but after all, there is no one who can achieve great things in decades. Why?"

"Probably... because they were born with different aptitudes?"

Taifu laughed lowly: "The aptitude is different, how much difference can there be? The so-called invincible warrior is only able to defeat hundreds of people, and even a counselor who spans sixteen countries sometimes misses. Force and wisdom are not fundamental. In the end It is his heart that determines a hero. Why does he want to look down on the mountains from the summit? This wish is the power in his heart, which can be defeated by thousands of troops."

"The later learners are ignorant and do not understand the meaning."

"Master Ether's wisdom has already been explained, just want me to explain it myself?" Taifu smiled.

“Boldly ask the Lord what is your wish?”

"The Grand Master is going around the corner, but I still want to ask about the old things twenty years ago. The reason why the Dadu guards commanded a hundred thousand soldiers to gallop east is not a wish," the Taifu took a deep look at the Grand Master, "but Fear."

"Fear? The lord's army is invincible. Except for the chaotic parties, there is no one in the wild. Why does the Taifu say fear?"

"Invincible, all-round obedient, don't you have fear? More or less, everyone has fear in their hearts, and you can't see it. Because everyone will hide their fear, from when you were young. It is buried deep there, but it will not disappear. You have a well, and you keep filling it with soil, layer by layer, and what you want to cover is a ghost, the ghost in your heart. But you can’t hide it Hold on to it, unless you kill it yourself, it will always pass through layers of soil at night, and still float in front of your eyes." The Taifu flicked the strings and clanked, "This is fear, such as ghosts in the well, the general guard, The Grand Master and even myself are no exception."

"My lord, what is the ghost in the well?"

"You can never ask about ghosts and ghosts."

"Thank you for your instruction," the grand master snuffed out the wick and exited the door.

Twenty years ago.

September of the eighth year of Emperor Yinxi, at the end of summer.

Nanhuai City has a wind pond.

At night, the deep shade of Tong Tong covers the entire garden, like a mass of dark green that is too thick to melt. These sycamore trees are all a hundred years old, and they are densely surrounded by a quiet area in the busy city. The gaps in the stone floor are full of natural fluffy grass, a few fallen leaves are sprinkled on the ground, and the densely forked tung branches are joined together on the head. Natural vaults. Only a piece of distant sky was exposed on the blue-gray roof. In the center of the garden is a huge pond, which occupies most of the garden area, and the white lotus that has bloomed to the end is still swaying in the wind. The lotus petals fall, do not sink, but float on the water. The wind blows from the door, and flows away from the opening on the roof, silently. The noisy street outside seemed so far away, it was simply two worlds.

There is a wind and a pond, which is why this garden got its name. It used to be the other garden where the lord of the country enjoyed the cool air, and later it was given to Xi Yan, the commander of the military hall, but Xi Yan's whereabouts are uncertain, and he seldom lives here. In the past days, people often ask to see him at the door with solemn gifts, and most of them are rejected. The general's nephew stopped him.

A fish jumped up with splashes, its silver scales flashed, and it "plopped" back into the pond. The general, who was leaning on the railing and looking at the water, undressed and threw fish food into it.

Footsteps came from outside, and a white-browed boy came in with a box in his hands: "This is a letter sent by Mr. Honglu Qing Molu, and it is said that the time limit for deciphering has just arrived."

"Oh?" Xi Yan took the box, walked quickly to the lamp, and flipped through the letterhead in the box.

Xiyuan saw that he was serious, so he quietly waited aside. The letters were mostly on fine birchbark paper, but also on green stamped notes, each with a monogram at the end, in a sharp and light handwriting. Xiyuan knew that it was the handwriting of Baili Jinghong, the lord of the country. Apart from the title of Lord Tang, Baili Jinghong's most outstanding thing was his calligraphy, which was changeable and could be imitated by other calligraphy styles. The letterheads in the palace will be affixed with the word "Jing" at the end after Jinghong has read them for a hundred miles, and then sealed with wax paint, and filed in Honglu Temple. There is another fourteen-year confidentiality period, and even Hong Luqing himself is not allowed to open it. These letters were just declassified a few days ago.

"Uncle..." He hesitated to speak.

"What's the matter?" Xi Yan flipped through the pages very quickly without looking up.

"Uncle read the declassified letters, there should be no problem. But today Lord Molu also said that only uncle frequently reads and reads the letters from the king. I'm afraid some villains will go to the king's side Into slander, uncle must guard against."

"Oh?" Xi Yan smiled and patted Xi Yuan on the head, "This is Molu warning me through your mouth."

"Uncle, don't take it lightly. Now that uncle spends less time in Nanhuai City, the king favors Tuoba Shanyue, and there are many villains gaining power..."

"Are you fifteen years old this year?" Xi Yan suddenly interrupted him.

Half of the speech was blocked, so he could only nod his head.

"It's really like your father," Xi Yan sighed in a low voice, "You are fifteen years old, and you have his twenty-five-year-old wordyness. Sometimes I really don't know if I take care of you or you take care of me... ..."

Xiyuan was dumbfounded and didn't understand what uncle meant.

"I was really annoyed by his wordiness at the time...but when I heard you being so wordy, I felt so familiar..." Xi Yan stopped abruptly, flattened a curled note with his fingers and approached* **.

"Zhenyi..." he whispered.

Seeing that his uncle's expression suddenly became serious, Xiyuan leaned over and took a look, and found that it was a note three fingers wide at the back. examination paper. Xi Yuan is familiar with this kind of mulberry paper scroll, when scouts use pigeons to deliver messages, they will stuff this scroll into a small bamboo branch and hang it on the pigeon's claws. At the end of the paper, apart from the monogram, there are also a few small words "Be careful, keep it in your possession, don't lose it, on December 30th, the eighth year of Zhenyi", which is also Baili Jinghong's handwriting. The strange thing is that the content of the letter is so short that there are only two words - "The matter is over", and there is a small seal at the end, which looks distorted and flying, and the handwriting is unrecognizable.

Xiyuan couldn't understand, so he had to look at his uncle, hoping to get some answers.

Xi Yan was silent for a moment, and sealed the scroll as it was: "It's Baili Changqing's personal seal."

"Baili Changqing does not belong to the Baili family in the imperial capital..."

"He is the owner of the previous generation of the Baili family. On the seal is the word "three beetles". The heart beetle'. The Duke of Baili Changqing has the nickname of "Tieweihou". The first person."

"Then he sent a letter to the king with a flying pigeon, and there are only two words. Does it have any special meaning?"

"I understand a little bit, but I still don't fully understand it," Xi Yan put all the letters in the box and handed them to his nephew, "Xi Yuan, send these back, starting today, please Molu There is no need for adults to send declassified letters."

"Yes!"

"The records of borrowing these letters must not be kept, otherwise it may be a disaster for our uncle, nephew and even Molu."

Uncle's words made Xiyuan tremble involuntarily, put away the box and hurried away.

"Those wind and tiger scouts, haven't you found them yet?" Xi Yan called his nephew.

"Not yet, but sixty people have been scattered all over the city to search. Unless they left, there should be news back soon."

Xi Yan nodded heavily: "Don't take this matter lightly. Recently, what I'm most worried about is the relationship between the princes. In March of Chun Kingdom, Xin was defeated by Ying Wuyi. It was supposed to be time to recuperate, but at this time Feng Tiger's scouts sneaked into the Nanhuai River. The wind and rain fell, and the black clouds collapsed."

"Yes! Uncle, is there anything else you want to order?"

"By the way, that Ji Ye who won the martial arts performance, have you visited his residence these days?"

"Yes. According to my uncle's wishes, I have accepted his household registration as a military registration, but his military rank and position need to be handled by my uncle himself."

"Well," Xi Yan nodded, "Leave him as the Qingying Guard of the Wudian by my side. You can do it with my seal, but send him to the Imperial Army in the Eastern Palace and let him serve as a **** in the Eastern Palace for a year."

"To the East Palace?" Xi Yuan's eyes widened.

"What?"

Xiyuan hesitated for a moment: "Uncle, do you know? We all said in private, 'Eastern palace monsters dare not approach, eight hundred divine soldiers are as good as Tai Sui'."

"Yo?" Xi Yan smiled, "There are still such smooth words and sentences, tell me, how do you explain it?"

"This is a secret derogation. It means that the 800 imperial guards guarding the East Palace are overbearing. They are not even comparable to monsters, so they dare not approach them. Because the Crown Prince's East Palace is close to the ancestral mausoleum, there are 800 elite imperial guards in the establishment. Wei, not counting the deployment of the three armies, General Tuoba can't control it, uncle, your military order can't be passed there. Thousands of people serve a prince, and they are usually bored. Guarding the ancestral mausoleum, promotion is the fastest. In Nanhuai City, all the children of aristocratic families want to join the army, they all want to go to the East Palace. Happy few years with the same qualifications, you can be promoted to be a general if you ask for favors."

"You are becoming more and more proficient in this set of human relations," Xi Yan still smiled.

"But uncle, you don't know that in the East Palace, those who don't have the status of aristocratic family are worse off than dead. The first day you enter is three books and two rituals."

"Three books and two rituals?"

"Three Letters are a letter to the commander of the Imperial Guards in the Eastern Palace. You must entrust powerful people to write it. One is to your immediate superior, and the other is to the chief steward of the Eastern Palace. Gold tickets must be included in it. Give more and give less, look at the financial resources of each family. The second gift is for ordinary sergeants. If you want to get everyone's recognition, you have to choose one of two things, or spend a lot of money to invite everyone to the best place on Ziliang Street. In the restaurant, the fans are invited to drink flower wine, one is to run naked from one side of the East Palace to the other in the middle of the night, and lose face to the end, otherwise it will be unavoidable to be angry and beaten."

"Hehe, then Ji Ye doesn't have the money to invite everyone to drink flowers and wine, and he won't run around naked at night, it seems that beatings are inevitable," Xi Yan laughed, "If you were in the Imperial Army last year, you How did you get here?"

"I'm my uncle's nephew...it's naturally different."

"Hehe, Commander Xi's nephew is not only exempted from your three books and two ceremonies, but also may treat you as a guest of honor and entertain you with a banquet. If you are willing, I will pour wine for you If Boots invites you to drink flowers and wine, there are people who are willing, right?"

Xiyuan's face was slightly red: "It's no different from what uncle said, but I pushed it."

"Xiyuan, if you can achieve great things in the future, it is because you are my nephew. If you fail to achieve great things, it is because you are my nephew," Xi Yan shook his head, " But Ji Ye is different."

"Different?"

"He is a wild beast, he was born in the forest, no more than you were born to be the nephew of the military commander. Every bit of him has to be fought for with his own hands. The things you said about the East Palace, I have also heard that if Ji Ye can stand out from the crowd this year, he is qualified to be my student! I really want to see how this little guy passes the three books and two rituals. By the way, Who is the commander of the East Palace now?"

"A few days ago, the lord just ordered that Youyin be promoted to guerrilla general. Now he is the highest-ranked person in the East Palace."

"Yu Yin..." Xi Yan was silent for a moment, "That child smells bad."