This was a pleasure,

This was a happiness,

This was an indulgence,

The war between Yan and Chu, Great Chu, had lost;

No matter how you argue,

The capital was burned, Zhennan Pass was ceded, Shanggu Prefecture was cut off, the Yan army wreaked havoc and plundered your territory. It is said that the Marquis of Pingxi even created the official position of Mojin Xiaowei (grave robber),

No matter how you look at it, it was a loss, and a very ugly one at that.

But,

Frankly speaking,

No one in Great Chu,

Actually dared to criticize General Nian for his unfavorable command of the army;

Even the Yan generals with their noses in the air would not laugh at Nian Yao as a cowardly rat.

Because the opponent he faced,

Was Tian Wujing.

The Prince of Jingnan, who had gathered countless laborers and countless resources from Yan and Jin, piling up and even overdrawing the country's strength, and assembling most of the Great Yan cavalry.

And even then,

He only opened up the situation by using the method of the dike-bursting navy surprise attack;

And even then,

Nian Yao still safely withdrew hundreds of thousands of Great Chu imperial guards from Zhennan Pass.

Sometimes, whether a general is excellent needs to be highlighted;

For example, some generals have spent most of their lives putting down countless peasant rebellions, but this military merit and reputation are really mixed with too much water;

Their level is actually like the gap between the Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) of Great Yan and the Jinshi of Qian; seemingly both are Jinshi, but in terms of literary tradition, the gap is really visible to the naked eye.

And Nian Yao is the only opponent in recent years who can still get a decent result in a head-on confrontation with the Prince of Jingnan, which is enough to be proud of.

The game with Tian Wujing made old Nian very depressed, and this depression lasted for a whole year.

But he couldn't tell anyone, roar, or shout:

Do you know how I got through this year!

He had to break his teeth and swallow them.

Now,

He finally raised his eyebrows and exhaled,

He finally got released.

General Nian was very grateful to the Qian people. It was the Qian people who gave him back his confidence as a commander and allowed him to find the long-lost joy.

"Splash..."

Boots, stepping into a pool of blood.

Not unintentional, but deliberate.

Because taking this Minzhou city was not that difficult.

Half of the garrison directly abandoned the city and fled, and most of the rest chose to surrender;

Therefore,

General Nian really had to carefully look for blood puddles to wet the soles of his boots.

After capturing this city, the Chu army did not engage in large-scale burning, killing, and looting. This stemmed from General Nian's strict military discipline;

Not only that, even the various Yue tribes who had been conscripted to help did not plunder, because the Chu army reminded them with a chilling murderous aura who was really in charge here.

A group of clan elders knelt before General Nian.

General Nian was not in a hurry to tell them to get up. Although the king's intention was that in the future, the Shan Yue people would also be Chu people, General Nian still found it difficult to regard them as people.

Fortunately,

General Nian was born as a family slave,

He,

Knows how to act.

"What is yours will eventually be yours. This General knows that your sons have been holding back, but now, they must continue to hold back.

Do you see the clouds in the west?

There,

Are cities richer than Minzhou City,

There is a denser population than Minzhou City,

There are greater military merits than Minzhou City.

You are also clear about the king's intentions, and you are also very clear about this general's intentions.

Follow this general,

Continue to the west,

Continue to seize military exploits,

You yourselves can enter the court as officials, and your children can enter this general's army as generals.

The nobles who once conquered you have now decayed into moths;

Next,

Will be your era.

Go west,

Take more land, more gold and silver, more people, more…glory from the weak Qian people!"

"We will die for the king!"

"We will die for the king!"

"We will die for the Great General!"

"We will die for the Great General!"

……

The Chu army's offensive was extremely rapid.

It also shows that the Qian people's defenses in the southeast are really quite weak.

The fall of fortresses and military outposts is actually secondary, because such places are difficult to defend when the general trend is not on your side.

What is really fatal is that,

In the following month or so, four more military towns like Minzhou City fell one after another.

In the end,

Nian Yao's army even broke through the prefectural city of Qian's Nanyuan Prefecture.

The fall of a military town means the collapse of the entire defense system originally based on this military town, and the fall of a prefectural city means the collapse of the defense system of a prefecture.

Local military outposts, county towns, or soldiers and righteous armies, even if they want to do something, they will face a situation of leaderlessness, and what awaits them will be an extremely swift sweep like autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves.

The entire war,

Stopped after Nanyuan Prefectural City was taken.

It's not that General Nian was satisfied,

But his vanguard army was fighting too fast, the central army was too scattered, and the rear army couldn't keep up.

Yes,

The speed of conquering cities and territories has exceeded the traditional speed of marching.

This is very incredible,

But anything incredible happening to the Qian people seems to have a bit of taken-for-grantedness.

If,

The Qian people want to trade space for time,

Then it must be successful.

Because if a main force of the Qian people suddenly broke in at this time and surrounded General Nian's vanguard army.

Whether to eat it directly or besiege the city and fight for reinforcements can be extremely calm, after all, losing land to preserve the people means losing both land and people; preserving the people while losing land means regaining both people and land.

At this time, the Chu army has committed a great taboo in military affairs, and can be said to have completely dispersed its fists.

If the Chu army were facing the Yan army at this time, without the Prince of Jingnan taking action, or even Liang Cheng giving advice, Marquis Zheng himself would be able to decisively order the cavalry to divide and cut the battlefield, smashing the invading Chu army.

But the problem is,

What General Nian is facing now is the Qian army.

When dealing with unequal opponents, sometimes being too cautious, which is the saying "a lion uses its full strength to catch a rabbit," can have the opposite effect, such as delaying the opportunity.

Facts have proved that General Nian's approach was extremely correct.

It was not until the Qian army captured Nanyuan Prefectural City for a period of time and obtained coordination with subsequent troops that two Qian armies came, and these two armies neither joined forces nor attacked, but were respectively stuck on the southwest and northwest sides of Nanyuan Prefectural City, presenting a clamping shape.

After receiving this news from the scouts,

General Nian laughed twice,

He knew that the two Qian armies coming from the west did not merge because they were waiting for specific superiors to determine their affiliation;

The reason why they did not attack immediately was because they were troops transferred from the neighboring two prefectures, and they did not dare to act rashly, nor were they willing to act rashly, so they chose the safest and most passive response.

This situation,

Would never happen when playing against the Yan army!

After Marquis Pingxi of Yan led a lone army deep into the territory and burned Jing City, he had clearly made a great contribution, but he still ventured to lead a lone army deep into the heart of Great Chu. What a progressive attitude!

Therefore, General Nian felt very at ease. This sense of ease was not much different from when he grabbed those princes like grabbing chicks back then.

Planning strategies and seeing through everything,

That's where the itch of a general lies.

Therefore, General Nian ordered the subsequent troops to arrive according to the scheduled time,

At the same time, he ordered the Chu army in the city who had experienced a long journey to rest and recuperate generously,

In addition,

He instructed his personal soldiers to boil hot water for him,

General Nian wanted to take a bath!

……

Qian Kingdom,

Shangjing (the capital).

Mr. Xundao came down from the mountain, entered the government, and was appointed as the Patrol and Pacification Commissioner (Xun An Shi), and was sent to the southwest.

All of this was in accordance with the rules, because Mr. Xundao was a Tanhua (third place in the imperial examination), and was originally a member of the scholar-official class. Although he had never entered the court as an official, his status as the helmsman of Houshan (Back Mountain) gave him a feeling that the Qian Emperor's "destiny was destined" and even the "immortals" from heaven had come down to assist him.

Moreover,

Luo Mingda was not the only one who knew Li Xundao's true identity.

The descendants of the Assassin Xiang Gong (Prime Minister with a Tattooed Face) were reused and once again patrolled and pacified the southwest. It was convincing in terms of reason, emotion, and even "for good luck";

Most importantly, the Patrol and Pacification Commissioner was not a high-ranking official. In fact, it was originally a errand, similar to an imperial envoy, patrolling and pacifying one side on behalf of the emperor. Therefore, this position allowed the court, which had been tidied up by the Qian Emperor in recent years, to have no objections.

Although everyone knew that the role of this errand could be big or small, it all depended on the emperor's trust in him. Since the emperor allowed him to go to the southwest, he would definitely give him the greatest power. However, as long as he could really calm down the increasingly corrupt situation in the southwest, it would be excusable to be promoted and given a formal position based on this credit.

On the day Mr. Xundao left the capital,

Not only did three thousand imperial guards go with him,

Most of the people in Shangjing also welcomed him along the way.

The people did not know that Mr. Xundao was the orphan of the Assassin Xiang Gong, nor did they know what kind of official position the Patrol and Pacification Commissioner was. They were here to see the "immortal" who came down from Houhai (Back Sea).

Therefore,

Incense tables and candles were placed on both sides of the road out of the city, and many devout Shangjing people had made all preparations, just to pay homage to the heavenly face of the "immortal."

This pomp was even greater than welcoming the emperor's tour.

……

Li Xundao was no longer dressed in white, but in a red official uniform. Houshan was Houshan, and the officialdom was the officialdom. It was natural to abide by the rules of one place in one place.

However, even with the official uniform on, he still did not give people a stable and sophisticated image in the traditional sense, and still seemed elegant and otherworldly.

It was not easy to wear an official uniform with an aura of not eating the food of the mortal world, and stand out from the category of "beasts in clothing."

Outside, the imperial guards were ready, and the leader was a newly appointed Zhonglang General (Colonel) surnamed Wang. He would lead his troops to escort the Patrol and Pacification Commissioner to the southwest, and obey his orders after arriving.

The palace had just sent an decree saying that the emperor would leave the palace to send him off in person, which could be said to be giving him enough courtesy.

This was actually a kind of increase in value. After Li Xundao entered the southwest, the civil and military officials in various parts of the southwest would weigh in their hearts how to arrange the position of this Patrol and Pacification Commissioner.

The time was almost up,

General Wang was preparing to report,

When he was halfway there, he heard footsteps coming from behind. He looked back and saw a person with a sword on his waist, a slightly thin figure, but his eyes were like cold ice.

Back then,

Someone in white clothes entered Shangjing by boat, and the emperor welcomed him in person, causing a sensation in the whole city;

"Greetings..."

General Wang was preparing to salute, because the person in front of him also held the official position of martial arts instructor of the Crown Prince.

Bai Li Jian directly waved his hand, his figure swept past General Wang, and entered the house.

General Wang hesitated for a moment, but decided to wait a while before reporting.

……

"There's such a big scene in the city, but you don't avoid it at all."

Bai Li Jian looked at Li Xundao standing in the room and said with a smile.

"I heard you went to the South Sea, and I thought you wouldn't be back."

"How could that be? My Bai Li family has always valued promises."

"You came back a long time ago, didn't you?"

"Yes, I came back a long time ago, but I originally planned to go to your door on New Year's Eve to keep my promise."

Li Xundao smiled when he heard this and said, "You are really honest."

"The emperor will come out to send you off later."

"I know."

"The scene is too big, it's not good. I am originally a swordsman. To put it bluntly, I entered the temple from the Jianghu (martial world). After going around in a circle, everyone knows that I am still in the Jianghu after all.

You entered the court from Houshan. It will be difficult to go out again, and you basically won't be able to go out.

Such a big scene will plant the seeds of disaster.

Just like,

When the Assassin Xiang Gong entered the capital after pacifying the southwest, the people also cheered and welcomed him like this;

What happened in the end?"

"What the people want to see is an immortal. The reason why immortals are immortals is because the people can't see them. When they see them, when they keep hearing about what he has done, the immortal is no longer an immortal.

This is just a bit lively this time. Next time, it won't matter.

Besides, in Houshan cultivation, the so-called Qi refining is nothing more than cultivating oneself and fighting for a breath with the sky, even if there are thousands of people, I will go."

"These words sound a bit harsh."

Bai Li Jian reached out and touched his earlobe.

He and his sister were once very close to killing the Marquis of Pingxi, who was still a garrison commander at the time,

But there was an accident in the middle, and the Yan army cavalry rushed out,

He and his sister chose not to strike and immediately returned to the city.

This matter,

Has become an indelible stain;

Especially later, after the Sword Saint of Jin, Xue Haiguan, achieved the record of beheading thousands of cavalry and taking the head of a Wild Man general,

This stain on the Bai Li siblings was highlighted even more prominently.

Then,

As Zheng Fan continued to climb, from garrison commander to general to commander-in-chief, from a newly emerging young general to one of the four famous young generals, the other three could no longer be compared with him.

The extent of the loss in this deal of failing to make up his mind to kill him,

Is also constantly increasing,

Now,

That one has been made a Marquis,

The military merit Marquis of Yan.

"There is some silt in the lotus pond in Houshan. I have to borrow your sword Qi to clean it up," Li Xundao said.

"Okay," Bai Li Jian agreed.

Li Xundao turned around, walked to Bai Li Jian, looked at Bai Li Jian, and said very seriously:

"Everyone has their own choice. You can think of it as everyone has their own destiny. This is my fate, Xundao."

"I can go with you. After I clean up the lotus pond in Houshan, I will set off to find you in the southwest."

"I am not the Marquis of Pingxi of Yan. I am not qualified to have a sword saint to protect me."

"I have to do something, otherwise, I always feel like I've been left behind too much," Bai Li Jian said.

"It seems that this trip to the South Sea was quite fruitful?"

"I gained nothing."

"Letting go, with empty hands, is actually a kind of gain."

"These words should be said to the native chieftains in the southwest. They will probably be confused by what you say."

Speaking of which,

Bai Li Jian yawned,

Said:

"After seeing some real scenery, you will find that everything you owned before is really not worth mentioning, so you have gained nothing."

"Hehe."

Li Xundao opened the door,

"I'm leaving."

"Have a good trip."

"Bai Li."

"Hmm?"

"If you were given another chance, would you have struck that surname Zheng outside Shangjing back then?"

Even if he had to face the encirclement of the Yan cavalry next.

Bai Li Jian shrugged,

Said:

"Isn't it good to be alive?"

Li Xundao asked again: "People live a lifetime, a hundred years is already a long life, but eternal sleep can last for thousands of years, so tell me, what do people live for?"

"What do you say?"

Li Xundao smiled and replied:

"People live to find a suitable way to die."

Bai Li Jian licked his lips and said, "I thought you Qi refiners would say that you are seeking eternal life."

Li Xundao waved his sleeves,

Walked out freely,

Walking and saying;

"My master told me before he went to Yanjing that living too long is not very interesting either."

……

Ritual music sounded,

The people cheered along the way,

Incense tables rose with bursts of white mist with a solemn atmosphere.

Today, Shangjing was not like bidding farewell to an imperial envoy who was about to set off for the border areas, but more like bidding farewell to a statue.

The people cheered piously, and prostrated piously;

They did not know that their current actions were actually handing the knife to the object they were now prostrating to in the future.

The emperor led a group of civil and military officials to send him off in person, with full courtesy.

After completing a set of procedures,

Complex,

Grand,

Solemn,

In the end,

Li Xundao, his entourage, and three thousand imperial guards left Shangjing from the west gate.

Many people still chased out of the city, wanting to see the immortal a few more times.

The officials all seemed to have finished today's tedious tasks and took a breath. Some sneered, some shook their heads, and some old people were in a daze, as if sighing at fate, as if they really saw some kind of reincarnation.

There were also censors who were already holding the memorials they had written last night, preparing to file a complaint, how could the dignified Qian, a land of culture, be confused by "illusory" things? My Great Qian should have civil servants who do not love money and military men who do not fear death, and the monarch and his ministers should be of one mind to restore the prosperity of the Three Emperors and Five Emperors. How can we not ask about the people and ask about ghosts and gods?

Fortunately, the Silver Armor Guards, who had foreseen this early on, held down those censors and took them down for being rude in front of the emperor before they could shout out.

In today's atmosphere, the emperor was a little tired and too lazy to pay attention to these noisy flies.

Of course,

This was also because after expelling those old generation prime ministers from the court, the emperor's power had become more and more prosperous, and he did not need to pursue the good reputation of enduring insults.

The emperor sat in the Luan Jia (imperial carriage), having just taken off his dragon robe, and there was charcoal fire roasting inside.

Someone outside reported that Bai Li Jian requested an audience.

"Let him in."

Bai Li Jian came in.

The emperor pointed to the position beside him,

"Sit."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

The eunuch served tea,

The Luan Jia began to return to the palace.

The emperor picked up the teacup,

This was a courtesy, to brew for a while before talking about things.

After a long time,

The emperor opened his mouth and said: "Yu Ciming lost the bet and was moved to Yanjing to be his Prince of Jin; Situ Lei lost the bet, and the good Dacheng Kingdom became the Prince of Qin;

Don't look at the one in Yan who has been winning, he is actually always gambling;

They are all gambling,

Because they can't afford to lose,

Only I,

Can afford to lose.

Xundao's trip to the southwest, the affairs of the southwest should be calmed down, next..."

Outside the Luan Jia, suddenly came:

"Report! Eight hundred li urgent report!"

The emperor frowned slightly and said;

"Announce."

Soon,

A messenger soldier entered the Luan Jia and knelt down:

"The Great General of Chu, Nian Yao, led his troops to invade my southeast, and Minzhou City has been breached!"

The emperor put down the teacup in his hand.

Bai Li Jian then opened his mouth and said;

"Your Majesty, should I go and chase Xundao back now?"