When I looked up, everything was white.
At the same time, in this endless white snow, there are also ice sculptures with weird shapes.
As soon as he saw these ice sculptures, Zhao Zhen's pupils shrank suddenly.
But he could tell at a glance that these ice sculptures were all human beings!
The frozen dead!
Some of these dead people maintained an attacking posture, some had a crooked posture, and some had their arms and bodies dislocated. They looked extremely weird and terrifying!
At the same time, these dead ice sculptures were densely packed and could not be seen at a glance, like a forest in the snowfield.
A forest of dead people!
"These people include our soldiers and soldiers from the Hanxue Dynasty. However, neither of us took away the bodies. They both left them here."
He Changkong looked at the endless ice sculptures on the snowfield, and a complex look flashed in his eyes, but it soon turned into indifference, "Do you know why?"
Zhao Zhen shook his head.
"The Hanxue Dynasty is located in an extremely cold place, where wind and snow are constant all year round. In their understanding, everyone in the Hanxue Dynasty was born in the wind and snow, and since they were born in the wind and snow, then When you die, you will naturally return to the wind and snow."
He Changkong said lightly, "So for them, the wind and snow are their fate, their way home, and more importantly their family and relatives. Therefore, after their people die in battle, they will leave their bodies here so that when they attack next time, It feels like you’re not attacking, but going home.”
Hearing this, Zhao Zhen fell silent.
go home!
With just these two words, Zhao Zhen understood how terrifying the Hanxue Dynasty was.
The wind and snow have returned home.
Death is my hometown.
What kind of fighting will is this? How desperate is this?
"Born in the wind and snow, died in the wind and snow, returned to the wind and snow."
He Changkong said calmly, "Who can defeat this kind of enemy?"
"Isn't the general always winning?"
Zhao Zhen looked at He Changkong.
"Win? Haha, if being unable to shrink back is victory, then I have indeed been winning."
He Changkong laughed at himself, "Unfortunately, shrinking is shrinking, where is the victory? Although the imperial court has repeatedly reported the success of Snowstorm City in recent years, but to put it bluntly, this victory is just that I defended the city under the enemy's fierce attack. I defended it once. , they say that I defeated tens of thousands of enemy troops, but in fact, I and the men here know that every time, they retreated calmly, while we were left devastated."
Zhao Zhen was silent.
"One of the reasons why I did not remove these ice sculptures is to let the soldiers of Snow Wind City understand the sacrifices of their predecessors. Only by understanding the sacrifices can we understand the preciousness of persistence."
He Changkong continued, "The second reason, and the biggest reason, is that these corpses frozen into ice sculptures can be used as another defensive barrier outside the city wall to block part of the enemy's offensive."
Hearing this, Zhao Zhen also had a complex look in his eyes.
He knew that this was the cruel world.
Go to war while you are alive.
He will still be used after death.
"I have to say that sometimes dead people are more useful than living people."
He Changkong said again, looking at the ice sculpture with indifference in his eyes, "Because the corpses frozen into ice sculptures are really hard, and the corpses accumulated over the years have expanded to thousands of miles outside. This not only relieves us a lot of The heavy defensive pressure also greatly improved our early warning capabilities."
"But at the same time, it's a sin."
At this point, He Changkong pressed his hands on the city wall and said with a faint look in his eyes, "Because I didn't lead them to victory when they were alive. After they died, I still want to use their bodies."
Zhao Zhen listened and wanted to say something, but looking at He Changkong's eyes, he remained silent.
He knew there was nothing to say about it because it was the truth.
At He Changkong's position, any form of comfort is a joke.
"So, I am guilty."
He Changkong sighed, then looked at Zhao Zhen again, and said bitterly, "What makes me feel most shameful and guilty is that I have to find someone to inherit this sin."
Hearing this, Zhao Zhen's eyes flashed.
"I?"
"to you."
He Changkong nodded seriously, "You know my current situation. Inside I have the suspicion of the court and the formidable enemy Zhou Jingshen, and outside I have enemy troops who regard death as home."
"This is internal and external troubles, and in this situation, I might die one day."
"It doesn't matter if I'm gone. What will happen to these 800,000 men? What will happen to the people on the plains 30,000 miles away? What will happen to those dead soldiers?"
Hearing this, Zhao Zhen was also speechless.
If it were He Changkong, he wouldn't know what to do.
"He Yun, you also know that she is a good child, talented, kind-hearted, and more sensible."
"But she is just a child after all. She is too naive and too fragile. She cannot bear this sin."
"And you can handle it."
"Because I believe in the vision of eldest brother and master. If they can choose you as the final sect leader, that is their recognition of you."
"At the same time, I also believe in my own vision. Through these few contacts, I know that your wisdom, determination, and even will surpass mine."
"So, if I choose you, I can only choose you."
"Are you willing?"
After hearing these words, Zhao Zhen also fell silent.
He also didn't expect that He Changkong would suddenly make such a request.
The most important thing is that he knows that this sin is not easy to bear.
"I know this is sudden."
"But I can only ask this."
"please."
Seeing Zhao Zhen's silence, He Changkong suddenly clasped his hands and saluted Zhao Zhen directly!
Zhao Zhen remained silent.
This is not because he is pretending to be noble, nor is it because he is not courageous enough.
But he knows that this responsibility is too heavy. Once he chooses to bear it, he will face an even more difficult situation in the future.
But then I thought about it, even if he wasn't burdened, his situation wouldn't be much better.
Because no matter what, he was going to kill Zhou Jingshen, which meant that he would inevitably be counterattacked by Zhou Jingshen and the court.
Naturally, after a moment, Zhao Zhen let out a long breath, stepped forward suddenly, and held He Changkong's hand.
"General He, you don't have to be like this."
"As you said, this is indeed a great sin, but at the same time, it is also a great honor."
"So I'll take it."
"Because it is my duty as the sect leader to help the disciples."
He Changkong's body trembled when he heard this.
The next moment he saluted again.
"Changkong, thank you very much, Master!"
"Get up."
Zhao Zhen nodded, and He Changkong stood up with a smile on his face.
"But I agree to this, but it will take time."
Looking at He Changkong's smile, Zhao Zhen said, "After all, my current state is too weak, and I don't have an official status yet. Even if I have an official status, I still need to make more military exploits. Otherwise, how will these soldiers serve me in the future? The court, and How can you promote me?”
"Haha, of course I know this."
He Changkong smiled and nodded, "Don't worry, although the situation is difficult, I will persist in living, because if I persist for one more day, you and Yun'er will be able to grow one more day."
"Hearing what the general means, He Yun wants to follow me?"
Zhao Zhen was stunned.
"Yes, this place is not suitable for her practice, let alone her growth."
He Changkong nodded seriously, "I want her to go back to Guanlan Hall in Longjing with you and practice with you."
Zhao Zhen was stunned, but soon he nodded, "There is no problem on my side. After all, Senior Sister He Yun is originally from my Qingyun sect, and she has helped me several times before. It is my duty to take her back to Guanlan Hall to take care of each other. , but I’m afraid she won’t agree.”
"She'll agree."
He Changkong smiled confidently, "After all, she is my daughter, she is sensible."
Zhao Zhen didn't say anything more after hearing this, just nodded, and then followed He Changkong back to the mansion in the city.
When he arrived at the mansion, Zhao Zhen entered a room and began to rest.
One day later, Zhao Zhen was still practicing, but the door of the room he was in was suddenly opened.
A girl in a red dress appeared in front of Zhao Zhen, it was He Yun.
"Zhao Zhen! Why does my father want me to go to Longjing with you?"
He Yun said angrily that she really didn't understand why Zhao Zhen and his father made this decision after they went to the city to talk for a while.
Zhao Zhen could naturally see the anger and eagerness in He Yun's eyes, so he did not explain, but just looked at He Changkong outside the door.
He Changkong smiled bitterly and shook his head. When Zhao Zhen saw this, he also said, "I don't know about this."
"Yes, Yun'er, this is my decision alone and has nothing to do with Zhao Zhen." He Changkong immediately responded and said seriously, "This is not suitable for your practice, and your presence here will also affect my command of the army, so you You must go to Longjing, only there can you truly make progress, and I can truly feel at ease here."
"father!"
"enough!"
He Changkong raised his hand and said majestically, "I have made up my mind! If you are still my daughter, then you must obey me!"
He Yun's body trembled and he looked at He Changkong with tearful eyes.
But He Changkong's face was as iron as steel, and his eyes were full of majesty.
After a long time, He Yuncai let out a cry and ran out.
Looking at this scene, He Changkong's majestic appearance collapsed, and his face showed deep bitterness.
Zhao Zhen also shook his head, but he didn't say anything.
He knew that this was a matter between father and daughter, and nothing he said was appropriate.
“The strong play with the rules.”
"Only the weak bear it."
"What a cannibalistic world..."
Zhao Zhen thought to himself and sighed secretly.
after one day.
North gate of Snow Wind City.
Hundreds of thousands of soldiers stood in the city, looking seriously at a middle-aged man on the north gate wall.
This middle-aged man was wearing heavy black armor and a black cloak on his back.
The cloak rustled in the wind and snow, just like the blue dragon flag beside him, dancing in the wind.
But the eyes of the middle-aged people under his banner lacked some of the majesty of the past, and had more indescribable sentimentality.
His eyes were looking into the distance.
In his eyes, two black horses, a man and a woman, were galloping into the distance.
As the black horse gallops, the man's figure is elegant and the woman's temperament is agile.
They were Zhao Zhen and He Yun who left Snow Wind City.
After running for a while, He Yun suddenly pulled the reins and the black horse stopped suddenly.
