bookcurios Chapter 176 Young General: People are late, the mountains and rivers are late
Chapter 176 Young General: People are late, the mountains and rivers are late
The Xu family soldiers stood in an orderly line, following a long distance behind Nangong Yunran. It can be said that the entire Xu family soldiers knew about the marriage of Nangong Yunran and Xu Jinhuan, and they also knew that their general returned to the capital just to get married.
"How come our general is fine, but after he went to the capital, they said someone was dead?"
"I don't believe it. The general was shot by an arrow that was poisoned. Everyone said he would not survive, but he managed to survive. He went through life and death so many times, and even the enemy couldn't do anything to him. How could he die in the capital?"
Someone said indifferently: "In the capital, there are many soft knives, and there is no danger of borders."
"Fuck." Someone clenched his fists and growled, "I really can't accept this. We let the people of Jiang do whatever they want, and now we have to watch the general's fiancée being forced into marriage."
In the eyes of the people and soldiers at the border, Xu Jinhuan is undoubtedly a god-like existence.
When the news of his death came, there was an uproar. No one could believe that the heroic young general had died, and at such a young age.
“Then what else can we do? Without the order of the court, anyone who disobeys the military order will be killed without mercy. The marriage between the two countries is a state affair. Even if some prince or noble dares to destroy this marriage, he will not be able to get enough heads to chop off even if he has ten.” The soldiers stationed at the border also had red eyes, and their faces were tense, as if they were suppressing something.
Seeing that the marriage team had stopped, the deputy general rode up on his horse, came to Nangong Yunran's side, turned over and dismounted, knelt suddenly on the ground, and hit his head heavily on the ground.
"Princess, I'm sorry."
He did not raise his head, but instead propped his head against the ground. Tears flowed down and hit the ground. He felt extremely indebted to the young general as he could not even protect his fiancée.
Nangong Yunran got off the carriage with the help of Yihuan and slowly bowed to the entire Xu family army.
"I've heard the general talk about Xu's army before, and now that I've seen them, I know what they mean by my good men who left my country. I'm afraid it will be a long time before we meet again, so I hope you all take care of yourself."
Seeing that Nangong Yunran was delayed, the people from Jiang State were not happy, so the messenger sent someone to urge them, "Princess, it's getting late, we have to get there before dark."
The people of Jiang State did not have much respect for Nangong Yunran. What they feared was the young man who was like a god of death. Now that the young man was dead, they had nothing to fear.
Even if Li State has other commanders, the other generals of their Jiang State are not necessarily inferior.
The deputy general did not tolerate him either. He punched the envoy in the face with a cold look in his eyes, without a trace of emotion.
"You better watch your words. Sooner or later, I'm going to kill you little bastards."
The envoy was so angry that he was about to explode, but when he saw the cold sword light of Xu's army not far away, which seemed to melt with the snow, the reflected light made him feel terrified in an instant. He did nothing, but he seemed to feel the cold murderous intent coming towards him. He could only grit his teeth and swallow this loss.
After Nangong Yunran got on the carriage, he took a deep look at the border and got into the carriage without looking back.
The bride's escort team moved forward again, and then they heard a crackling sound in the snow. It was the entire Xu family army shouting in a low voice with a sense of sorrow: "Farewell, Princess."
There were two cities captured by the State of Jiang. Neither of them was garrisoned by Xu's army. Instead, after Xu Jinhuan fought back, the imperial court sent people to garrison there. Then Xu's army went to the increasingly remote and dangerous Yuncheng.
The State of Jiang deliberately avoided where the Xu family's army was and went around to the northwest. The outermost city was Liangzhou. The garrisoned soldiers only held out for a few days before abandoning the city and fleeing.
Liangzhou seemed more and more desolate, with no human habitation for thousands of miles. The layers of mountain tops were completely white, covered with layer upon layer of snow, and the branches of the trees were also covered with a layer of ice and snow. Occasionally, a solitary bird flew over and landed on them, and large snowflakes fell, revealing some dark blue tree trunks.
In that endless expanse of white, only Nangong Yunran's team was moving slowly forward, leaving behind messy footsteps on the snow.
When we arrived in Liangzhou, someone was waiting for us in the distance.
The envoy of Jiang State said, "It is getting late. We need to rest in the city for another day. I have sent a message to the Fourth Prince. He will personally escort the princess to the capital of Jiang State."
Nangong Yunran didn't show much expression as she looked at the border indifferently. The weather was too cold. The chilly wind penetrated into her flesh and blood, causing pain like a needle prick. The thick white mist brought up by her breath blurred her face. She stood on the city wall and looked down, then slowly turned around, feeling as cold and lonely as if she had walked alone for thousands of miles.
Suddenly, a sharp horse neigh sounded, followed by the overwhelming sound of horse hooves, which was deafening. Even standing on the city wall, one could seem to feel the vibration.
Everyone turned around and saw a group of people descending from the sky in the vast fog, led by a young man.
A thick black cloak covered the boy's eyebrows. His sharp and handsome face was full of murderous intent. He raised his eyes slightly with a kind of casual cruelty, which made the Jiang people standing on the city wall couldn't help but take a step back.
Their faces turned pale and they stared at the people below in disbelief.
Why didn’t he die!!!
Nangong Yunran also turned around and looked at the person who was approaching from afar. He supported his weak white hands on the city wall and leaned out, as if he could see through the person's figure through the misty snow.
The young man stopped below Liangzhou, gripping the reins tightly, and raised his head to look at the people above. The white breath he exhaled softened the murderous intent on his brow, and the cold wind made his clothes rustle.
"Xu Jinhuan." The person above called out the name of the person in disbelief.
They would recognize this man even if he turned into ashes. After all, they had fought each other at the border for several years. He easily killed several Jiang State generals on the battlefield filled with the sounds of fighting.
Now seeing the young man again, the people of Jiang couldn't help but tremble with fear, especially the Jiang soldiers who had just occupied Liangzhou not long ago. Their faces were dejected and they looked at the young man below with extreme fear.
Chang Qing uttered two words coldly: "Open the door."
"Xu Jinhuan, what do you want to do?"
The envoy of Jiang State swallowed hard, as the rumors about the young man's extreme ferocity flashed through his mind. Although the envoy showed no sign of it, there was a slight tremor in his scolding voice that could not be concealed.
"doing what?"
Chang Qing gently lowered his eyes, and suddenly a smile appeared on his face: "I remember I said that her good temper does not mean that I have a good temper. This general just went to swim in the river. Where do you want to take my fiancée?"
The messenger shouted, "You, you are so presumptuous. This is a marriage between two countries. Are you going to break your promise by leaving your country?"
"That's the court's business, it has nothing to do with me. I can give you one stick of incense to get the people of Jiang out of Liangzhou, otherwise!" Chang Qing chuckled, the threat was self-evident, and then his tone suddenly became sharp: "You all stay."
"Xu Jinhuan, don't be so arrogant."
The people brought by Jiang State this time inevitably include some young and energetic people. Seeing others so afraid of Chang Qing, they felt extremely humiliated, but they forced themselves to endure it. However, when they heard Chang Qing's words, they exploded instantly.
The man took out a knife from his arms and walked straight towards Nangong Yunran.
"This is your princess from Liguo. If you don't want her to die, you'd better lay down your weapons."
Chang Qing reached out and picked up the bow and arrow. The bow and arrow weighing dozens of pounds was easily pulled open by her one hand. She let go of her hand slightly, and the arrow flew into the air.
The man was still speaking arrogantly. He had just raised the knife and had not even finished his words when the next moment he was pierced through the head by the fierce arrow and flew towards the envoy beside him.
The envoy staggered and fell to the ground after being pushed by the man. When he raised his head in frustration, he saw that the sword had pierced the man's head and the bloody arrowhead was only half an inch away from his throat.
The words came to his lips, but he was immediately swallowed back by the fear of death. He could only watch in horror as the blood dripped along the arrow head onto his skin, making him feel cold, as if he could already feel the pain of his neck being cut.
Everyone was stunned and didn't react for a long time.
The Jiang soldiers above the city also instantly took out their bows and crossbows, put arrows on them, and aimed them at the troops below. As long as the leader gave the order, these arrows would fly down like a flood.
Faced with those arrows that could burn him into a sieve, Chang Qing's expression did not change at all.
It was not difficult to see that there was no will to fight in the eyes of those Jiang soldiers. Instead, they were filled with fear of the young man below the city. Even their hands holding the bows and arrows were trembling slightly.
This was the bad reputation she left behind at the border. She even once led a few generals into the enemy camp and scared away tens of thousands of enemy troops.
Now, just standing here, the endless feeling of oppression will terrify the enemy.
The messenger turned the man's body over to the side, touched his neck with his hand, and found his hands covered in blood. He felt dizzy and almost fainted.
After a few seconds, his vision regained clarity. With trembling hands, he barely straightened the official hat on his head. Not daring to direct his anger at the young man who was at a disadvantage, he angrily directed at the wedding procession that was leaving the country.
"You, the Li Kingdom, have gone too far. Our country sincerely wants to become relatives with the Li Kingdom and is willing to return the two cities. What do you mean now?"
An Qianye, who was escorting Nangong Yunran, looked at the young general below with a complicated expression. The young man was not wearing armor, but white clothes like he was in the capital.
He said, "General Xu, this marriage is the will of His Majesty, and it is also the unanimous decision of all civil and military officials. I hope that the general will put the overall situation first and not act on impulse."
To be honest, An Qianye could understand it. If his fiancée was forced to marry, he would probably go crazy.
In the past, he followed the Second Prince, but after so many things happened, he gradually distanced himself from the core of the Second Prince's group and was unwilling to be too involved in the fight for the throne.
But it would not be easy for him to extricate himself since he was already deeply involved in it, so he was sent to escort Nangong Yunran to her marriage.
Chang Qing ignored him and said coldly: "Open the city gate."
"General Xu, what do you want to do?"
"There is a warm girl, and I want to take her home." The young general tilted his head slightly and smiled, revealing a part of his white neck. The snowflakes fell on his clothes and melted.
The young general stretched out his hand to the person above him: "After a few days, it will be early spring and the flowers in the south of the Yangtze River will bloom. I will take you home."
Nangong Yunran burst into tears instantly. When she was abandoned by everyone in the court, she didn't shed a single tear. When she said goodbye to the old emperor and queen, and walked alone for such a long time, she didn't cry either.
But these words made her burst into tears.
He's not dead!
He also said that he would take her home.
Nangong Yunran thought that she was quite strong. Although she was weak, she hardly ever cried. But when she saw the aggrieved boy, she felt even more aggrieved.
"General!" she murmured to herself.
Just when Chang Qing was about to lose his patience, the city gate slowly opened.
An Qianye closed his eyes and turned slightly to the side.
He was generally relieved, but then he became worried, thinking that he had an inseparable relationship with the Xu family. He and his younger sister went out for a trip and actually met someone from the Xu family, and at that time he formed a bond with Xu Qiongyin.
After arriving in the capital, he and his younger sister left early. Unexpectedly, he met Xu Jinhuan at the second prince's place. When he went to investigate Xu Jinhuan, he did not expect that Xu Qiongyin was actually his sister.
The rouge color accidentally disturbed a pool of spring water. Love rose with the wind, and I miss you so much that you don't know it.
An Qianye thought to himself that no matter what happened next and how the court would hold him accountable, Qiongyin would probably be very happy for her brother and the fifth princess.
Seeing that the people brought by An Qianye had controlled all the people in the Jiang Kingdom, the others immediately became anxious and started to curse: "Master An, what are you going to do? Do you know that you are committing a serious crime of confiscating property and exterminating the clan?"
But An Qianye chopped the man who was talking backhandedly, blood splattered on him, he curled his lips and said: "You've been the one who caused the most trouble along the way, I've been annoyed with you for a long time, don't think I don't know who you are, I just don't bother to pay attention to you."
The man died with his eyes wide open, not understanding what was wrong with An Qianye to dare to kill an imperial official with his own hands.
When Chang Qing came up, he raised his eyebrows in slight surprise when he saw this scene. An Qianye had never appeared in Xu Jinhuan's memory. He only knew that this person was a subordinate of the Second Prince, and later he had a rift with the Second Prince.
But when he saw the jade pendant hanging around An Qianye's waist, he instantly understood that it was Xu Qiongyin's personal item, and it even had the two small words "Qiongyin" engraved on it.
Chang Qing: “…” Damn, our house was robbed.
"General Xu."
An Qianye greeted Chang Qing with dignity.
Chang Qing suddenly felt unhappy. That was Xu Jinhuan's emotion, just like a father-in-law looking at his son-in-law. He just felt unhappy with An Qianye.