Chapter 925 Chu Feng

The starry sky was brilliant.

The emperor, having removed two layers of armor, leaned against the ramparts of the small military fortress, with the Dayan Black Dragon Flag standing beside him.

Ma Yang was brought up by two Jinyi (embroidered uniform) guards and forced to kneel before the emperor.

This newly promoted Chu commander had some mental issues, presenting a dazed state.

Not long ago, he was still a brave and resolute man who dared to actively attack Yan patrols, but now, all his courage had been crushed.

Everyone has their own limit of endurance. When that limit is exceeded, they collapse. Ma Yang was one such case.

Prince Pingxi walked slowly, his black armor reflecting a silver sheen in the candlelight, having been reforged by Xue San with special materials.

Unlike the early days when Prince Pingxi disliked wearing bright armor and riding the Pixiu,

the current Prince Pingxi had many direct troops and close guards such as Sword Saint A Ming around him, giving him the capital to show off.

The emperor, still exhausted from just kicking down a door,

still looked up at this time,

sizing up the first… well, probably the last “enemy general” he had ever captured in his life.

At the same time, the emperor did not feel any lack of interest from simply putting on a show, but was still filled with a keen interest in his tired body.

He knew his identity; being able to do this was already remarkable. Even this was only possible because the Zheng family had taken on a great burden and given considerable understanding.

"Do you know who I am?"

the emperor asked.

The prince standing beside him glanced at the emperor for asking such a foolish question.

The emperor himself was completely unaware.

Ma Yang's gaze began to refocus, but quickly fell back into confusion.

Just then,

Prince Pingxi reached out and pinched the back of Ma Yang's neck, smashing his face directly onto the dirt bricks.

"Bang!"

When he lifted him up again,

blood splattered,

even reaching the emperor's armor, giving this brand-new armor a chance to see blood.

Although his face looked like a dye shop had opened on it, Ma Yang was truly awake.

"Do you know who he is?"

the emperor asked Ma Yang, pointing at Zheng Fan.

Ma Yang mumbled a few times before finally answering, "Prince… Prince Pingxi."

No one dared to impersonate Prince Pingxi here, Ma Yang was certain of that.

The emperor nodded in satisfaction,

and pointed at his own face again,

asking;

"Then who am I?"

Ma Yang shook his head in confusion:

"I… don't know."

"…" The emperor.

Ma Yang came from a common background, he didn't actually know that "I" was an exclusive self-reference for the emperor.

Moreover, in this environment, although his mind was clear, it had nothing to do with calmness, and he couldn't quickly figure out who could sit there leisurely while Prince Pingxi was standing.

"That won't do, you have to know who I am. After all, you are the first enemy general I captured alive. Listen carefully, I am the Emperor of Dayan!"

……

"Ma Yang, I think you're crazy, I really think you're crazy!

What are you saying?

The ones who attacked your fortress were Prince Pingxi's Jinyi guards?

You also saw a Sword Saint and a Qi Refiner flying up into the sky?

You even saw Prince Pingxi himself carrying the royal flag and charging into the formation?

You even said that

you were captured alive by the Emperor of Yan?

If you're running away from the enemy in fear, can you find a better excuse? Why don't you just say you saw Buddhas descending from the sky to commandeer your fortress!"

Ma Yang lay prostrate on the ground, not arguing.

Ever since he floated back on a raft and was picked up by the Chu army, he had been in this state, answering whatever was asked, but otherwise, he was just dull.

At this time,

a tall man in a python robe walked into the military tent.

The general who had been scolding Ma Yang immediately knelt down:

"Greetings, Your Highness, why is Your Highness here..."

This person was none other than the brother of the Emperor of Chu, Xiong Tingshan, who was now in charge of the royal forbidden army along the Wei River.

Behind Xiong Tingshan stood a handsome young man, who else but Xie Yu'an?

After several battles between Yan and Chu in previous years,

both sides' generals had fallen to varying degrees,

but Chu's losses were undoubtedly much greater;

Moreover, Yan had the rise of Prince Pingxi, completing the changing of the guard, while Chu was inevitably short of generals and commanders.

To be a commander, one must not only have extremely strong military command capabilities, but also have the prestige to make the army under his command believe in you;

Therefore, early on, the Emperor of Chu had let Xie Zhuyang, the head of the Xie family, take charge of the Wei River defense line, and when Xie Zhuyang led the Xie family army into Liang and Zhao, the extremely important Wei River defense line was taken over by Xiong Tingshan.

After Nian Yao was defeated and captured, the Chu military basically only had these two people left who could carry the flag. There was a serious lack of successors.

Xiong Tingshan turned to look at Xie Yu'an standing behind him and asked:

"What do you think?"

"I think it might be true. The secret report received a few days ago said that Prince Pingxi accompanied the Emperor of Yan on an eastern tour to Xuehai Pass. Now, if you calculate the time, it's not surprising that they came out of Xuehai Pass and took a stroll around the Zhennan Pass."

"This is not surprising either?" Xiong Tingshan asked.

As an emperor, he actually went to the battlefield in person, and only attacked a newly established small military fortress with only twenty old, weak, sick and disabled soldiers. This was truly a great joke.

"Nothing is impossible. The Emperor of Yan and Prince Pingxi met when they were still nobodies. I think that the relationship between the two may not be as pure as the historical records say, that they were once ministers who appreciated each other and now suspect each other.

Maybe there is some real affection in it;

If the Emperor of Yan said he wanted to personally smell the atmosphere of the military, the prince might really come to satisfy him.

This matches the 'crazy talk' of this centurion.

Jinyi guards, Sword Saint, Qi Refiner, royal flag, emperor...

There is a saying among the people, called accompanying the prince to study,

In the future, you can add the second half of the sentence,

Accompanying the emperor to attack the city."

Xiong Tingshan said in a deep voice: "The Emperor of Yan and the Prince Pingxi of Yan are on the other side?"

"It's very likely. What, does Your Highness plan to do something?

Since they dare to come, they are naturally confident. Maybe the entire iron cavalry of Zhennan Pass is already waiting in Shanggu County."

"In this world, where is there such a thing as complete certainty?" Xiong Tingshan asked.

Xie Yu'an smiled: "General Nian also thought the same way back then."

"Don't mention Nian Yao to me."

Obviously, General Nian, who is now a eunuch in the Yan Palace, has become one of the two major national disgraces of Chu;

The other national disgrace is Qu Peiluo, the former young master of the Qu clan, who is responsible for security in Fengxin City.

Xiong Tingshan walked out of the tent, looked at the stars in the sky, and his brows were full of worry.

"Your Highness, don't you want to miss this opportunity?"

Xie Yu'an walked over and asked.

"What exactly do you want to say?"

"What I want to say is that the showdown between our Chu and Yan is not now, but in five years.

Originally, we had a chance to take advantage of Yan's fake weakness and overturn this seemingly huge monster, but in fact, it was empty inside, but unfortunately, there was a big problem with the Qian people.

The offensive and defensive positions have changed completely.

Now, no matter how much our Chu makes a fuss, we will lose, so it's better to wait."

"The Emperor is training the future of Chu, I understand, but the Yan people are also recuperating."

"There's nothing we can do about it."

Xie Yu'an was very open-minded,

"There's really no chance now, let's see in the future."

"In the future, there will be a chance?"

"At least it can be delayed." Xie Yu'an waved his hand, turned around, "I brought some good tea from home, would Your Highness like to come and taste it?"

"Not in the mood."

"That's a pity."

Xie Yu'an left slowly.

After the victory in Liang, the Xie family's position in Chu was unprecedentedly improved. In the past, the Chu nobles felt that the Xie family was an existence that could not be brought to the table in the noble sequence, but now, with the Emperor's step-by-step compression of the traditional noble forces, the nobles, who are far from as brave as they used to be, began to instinctively lean towards the Xie family, hoping to use the Xie family's only remaining big tree to block the wind and rain;

Therefore, the Xie family can be said to be the well-deserved leader among the many forces in Chu today.

But the Xie family is still honest, even more honest than before.

The momentum has been established, but they have not had any other thoughts, at least, there are no obvious actions.

Not only that, after returning from Liang, the young master of the Xie family returned to Emperor Chu in Yingdu and was highly valued. The Emperor even promised him a princess and would marry her when she came of age;

This time,

Xie Yu'an was sent by the Emperor to inspect the Wei River defense line.

Therefore,

Xiong Tingshan's status is respected, but the current young master of the Xie family really doesn't need to be afraid of him.

Xie Yu'an, who returned to his tent, didn't brew any tea,

Instead, he leaned against the tent entrance, blowing the evening breeze from the north while looking at the terrain map hanging in his tent.

One Zhennan Pass, one Fancheng,

The two claws of the Yan people have long pierced into the body of Chu, making it extremely difficult for half of Chu to turn over.

Tonight's events,

It further illustrates a fact that makes the ambitious people of Chu feel黯然绝望;

The Emperor wants to play,

The prince will accompany him to make trouble;

This means that the internal split and contradiction in Yan is likely to reach a kind of harmony and stability under the common understanding and efforts of the Emperor and the prince.

The internal strife in Yan that the rulers of Qian and Chu were looking forward to is probably not going to happen.

What is it,

Can make them do this?

And what is it,

Worth them doing this?

I'm afraid,

Only that one thing.

This is a play,

It seems absurd,

But it is actually being performed for the people of Zhuxia to see.

……

Yingdu,

The new capital,

But this palace seems a little petite.

When Xiong Liqing entered Yanjing City to be conferred, she said, "The Yan Palace is far worse than my Chu Palace", which made the late Emperor of Yan laugh out loud;

Now,

The Chu Palace is really not comparable to the one in Yanjing City.

This frugality from the emperor himself did give a group of Chu ministers new hope;

But sometimes, with the step-by-step rise of the neighbor to the north, it can also make people feel唏嘘 when facing this palace.

The Emperor of Chu had just finished meeting with his ministers and was eating a bowl of lotus seed soup.

His body has always been very good.

One of the signs is that after he became the Regent, several princes and princesses were born every year.

This is also a weathervane for the Emperor to declare his strength.

Of course, the reason why he worked so hard was also because of the previous chaos of the princes of Chu and the subsequent years of liquidation, coupled with the destruction of Yingdu, the direct lineage of the Xiong family's bloodline was too withered, and the deficit was too great, so he could only try his best to make up for it.

Three memorials sent from the Wei River are now placed in front of the Emperor of Chu.

But the Emperor of Chu was looking at a family letter from his sister in Fengxin City while drinking the soup.

It can be seen that his sister has not much affection left for him.

Once upon a time, this sister of his had some feelings for him that might have surpassed brotherly love;

Now, they have become familiar strangers.

The root cause of this situation,

Not because he refused her and forced her to marry into the Qu family;

Nor was it because she knew about the side effects of the Songque pill;

He knew this sister of his too well. This sister of his seemed娇憨可人, but in fact, she had a kind of precise calculation similar to that of the Queen Mother in her bones.

"So, it's ridiculous, right?"

The Emperor who was eating the soup suddenly changed his tone and was talking to himself.

Fortunately, there were no servants in this hall, so no one would find it strange, but the picture itself was already very strange.

The Emperor of Chu narrowed his eyes,

He put down the bowl,

And began to pinch seals.

But his mouth was still open, saying:

"Why is she so indifferent? You know the reason. It doesn't depend on how you treat her. As long as you are still useful and can still give her reliance, she will still be enthusiastic about you.

Indifference is because she now disdains you, and also disdains Chu."

The Emperor of Chu continued to pinch seals;

"She had a child, also a princess, but she is a princess of Yan.

Now,

She no longer regards the fact that she is a princess of Chu as something to be proud of.

She is proud that she is the woman of Prince Pingxi of Yan, and the mother of Prince Pingxi's child, hahahaha.

Emperor Xiong family,

This is your destiny,

Your destiny!

You are confident that you have calculated everything well, you think you can calmly clean up this country and start over, and you are sure that you will do better.

But you don't look at it,

North,

Will you give this opportunity?

Not only did they not get into chaos, but they also won again and again.

They,

Really don't give you any chance!"

While talking to himself, the Emperor of Chu continued to pinch the seals very calmly, and strands of light golden luster flowed from his fingertips.

"The memorials, have you read them?

Here it comes,

Here it comes again,

It's really here again,

The scene you least want to see is being staged in Yan again.

The previous generation of Yan's Iron Triangle, this generation, Yan's Dragon and Jiaolong are driving side by side again.

Emperor Xiong family,

What are you going to win with,

You tell me,

What are you going to win with?"

The Emperor of Chu began to put the handprints on himself one by one. Each time he added them, they brought extremely terrible pain, but the Emperor of Chu's movements were not hindered at all.

"I have seen several generations of Xiong family members, several generations of Xiong family emperors. To be honest, only you, I can look up to. The previous ones were really ordinary, and they were really far from your ancestors.

But it's a pity,

Fate is not in you,

You became the emperor, became the Son of Heaven,

But Heaven,

Did not intend you!"

The Emperor of Chu said:

"Can Heaven win for sure?"

Then, the Emperor of Chu's expression changed again:

"No, Heaven seems to be unable to win either, or Heaven has to change, it may continue, but it will be different from before."

"What exactly are you talking about?"

"I just came out for some air. When you chose to integrate me into yourself, you should have expected this day. While you are gaining a longer life, the bond between you and me will become deeper and deeper, just like your... ancestor."

"What I'm asking is, Heaven."

"Heaven is not there, Heaven cannot win, or Heaven has to change, it may continue, but it will be different from before."

"You are too... noisy"

"Tired of me? You can still suppress me now, but what about later? If... you have a future."

"I, don't believe in fate, I only believe in myself."

"Like the late Emperor of Yan? He seems to be this kind of person, and you, seem to have always admired him, but..."

"But what?"

"He died."

"Yes, he died, but I... am still alive."

"No, you misunderstood me, he died.

The old Pixiu in the Yan Palace, it has been preserved much better than me.

You think,

That old Pixiu, would it look down on him?

He could have been like you, the real aura of the Emperor, is what our spirits need most, and it is the foundation of survival.

But,

As a result,

He died.

Just because he died,

You,

Don't even think about being better than him in this lifetime!"

"Shut up!"

After the last seal was completed,

The Emperor of Chu closed his eyes,

When he opened them again,

He picked up the bowl of lotus seed soup that had cooled down and continued to eat it spoonful by spoonful.

When he finished the last mouthful,

When he saw the bottom of the bowl,

The Emperor of Chu found that the bottom of the original blue and white porcelain bowl had densely packed cracks, and the cracks were soaked with blood.

Taking the bowl away,

There were also small wounds on the palm of his hand where he had been holding the bowl, soaked with blood.

The Emperor of Chu put his palm on the imperial case,

Picking it up again,

A bloody handprint was left on it.

He clenched his fist,

Closed his eyes,

Then, his palm and eyelids opened slowly almost at the same time, and the wound on his palm had healed.

He died,

He died…

Suddenly,

The Emperor of Chu picked up a writing brush on the imperial case and stabbed it into his palm. The writing brush directly pierced his palm, and blood began to gurgle out.

But he,

Could not feel any pain.

A look of self-deprecation appeared on the Emperor of Chu's face,

Muttering;

"As an emperor, he should be fearless, holding the name of the Son of Heaven, but in fact, he is doing the most disrespectful thing to Heaven.

Therefore,

He,

Is not willing to die,

But even death, cannot make him fear it."

The Emperor of Chu pulled out the writing brush,

Watching his wound gradually stop bleeding on its own...

"I once thought that it was because Chu did not have Tian Wujing, did not have Li Liangting, did not have the invincible iron cavalry;

But in fact,

What Chu and Yan are farthest apart,

Is the emperor."