This night, the north wind blew.
In the early morning of the next day, a biting chill filled the suffocating air. It didn't dissipate for a long time, but instead became stronger and stronger.
In fact, last night, a melancholy north wind blew, and the cold air swept across the earth. It was not until dawn that the strong wind stopped. The goose feathers and heavy snow in the sky fell one after another as if they were free.
In just one night, because of a night of wind and snow, the winter of the first year of Tiansheng arrived as scheduled.
The snow was very heavy, and the city of Shangjing seemed to be covered with a white coat overnight. Looking from a distance, in the gray sky, there were flying snow like catkins, a pale, like Covered with a thin layer of gauze.
At this moment, a bleak winter day slowly rose from the east, broke through the fog, and cast a faint ray of sunlight, but it soon disappeared into the dim fog, leaving only a trace of light and shadow in this world.
The snow didn't stop.
In the west of the city, on Zhuque Street, stands the Palace of the Prince of Qin, which is known as the "tiger sitting on the dragon's plate".
However, they saw a pair of stone lions squatting outside the palace gate, their eyes wide open and bulging, as big as copper bells. They looked like they were about to burst out with a roar that would shake the sky at any moment.
Snow was flying, and in addition to the two stone lions outside the house, the kissing beast on the roof, and countless colorful glazed tiles, they were all covered with thick snow at this moment, white and smooth, but without much brilliance.
In the atrium, a gust of cold wind rushed towards me. The leaves blown by the wind were scattered in every corner of the atrium. There was heavy snow in the courtyard, and feather-like white snowflakes were falling along the vast road. From the sky, everything fell from the sky, and the entire courtyard was covered in a large expanse of silvery white.
The Prince of Qin's Palace occupies a large area, and its layout is quite reasonable. Its architectural style is basically majestic black, and there are two hundred iron pagodas all over the palace, showing a solemn and solemn style throughout the palace.
Looking at the entire Qin Palace, there are dozens of courtyards with carved beams and painted buildings, plus foyers, gardens, attics, warehouses, and stables in remote corners dedicated to raising horses; along the main entrance hall, slowly walk into the palace. Each brick and tile inside, each pavilion and each floor, the overall building is ingenious and has a unique flavor.
All over the palace, there are pavilions, pavilions, waterside pavilions, and various ancient trees and rocks. It is a fresh and refined scene, simple yet elegant, solemn yet dull, but not so luxurious and extravagant.
Close to the atrium is a small artificial lake, with a small white stone bridge built on it, spanning the rippling blue lake, tightly connecting the promenade and attic on both sides of the lake. It is several times larger, and the field of vision is instantly broadened.
There are many lotuses planted on the edge of the small lake, and a variety of flowers and plants are planted on the shore. The fragrance of flowers is overflowing, and thousands of trees are growing thickly. It must be said that in the capital city of Zhou Dynasty, where every inch of land is precious, there is only a prince's palace. It is really a spectacle to be able to draw such a mirror lake in the residence.
Bypassing the waterside pavilion, passing through the open corridor, passing through the winding paths among the bamboo forests, heading towards Yunshuiju, not far from the main hall, there is another clear, rippling lake, calm and waveless; Next to it is the main hall of Prince Qin's Mansion, standing alone at a corner of the lake shore, looking far away from the lake.
In the center of the lake, surrounded by water, there is a small pavilion. It is small and exquisite, with eight edges and corners of different shapes. There are wooden frames, charcoal fires and other items next to it; on the other side of the pavilion in the center of the lake, there are gurgling trees The thin stream flew down along the rockeries on both sides, rushed into the lake, and brought up a hazy mist.
At this time, the heavy snow had not stopped, and a cold wind blew up. The snow beads in the sky seemed to be broken, and they kept falling from the sky. Now they were all over the lake, and now they fell on the pavilion in the middle of the lake, and now they were stuck on the lotus. between leaves.
Suddenly, the fierce north wind howled and swept across the calm lake.
The breeze comes slowly.
The lake ripples.
At this moment, Xiao Changling was alone, wearing a black cloak with white clothes inside that were better than snow. He was sitting in the pavilion in the center of the lake, leaning on the railing and staring at the clear water of Mirror Lake in front of him.
But I saw Xiao Changling sitting under the pavilion, leaning on the railing comfortably, holding a fishing rod in his hand, fishing quietly on the lake; and his tall figure seemed a little lonely and lonely at this moment, but it still remained It was difficult to conceal the awe-inspiring heroic spirit in him.
Fishing has been a special hobby of His Highness the King of Qin for many years. Especially when the war is stalemate, he becomes more and more fond of fishing. He usually uses this method to think quietly and think about strategies to defeat the enemy; quietly Sitting by the water, looking at the calm water, no matter how arrogant or impulsive the heart is, it will slowly calm down, and through the surging river water, one can realize the true meaning of life.
Pavilion in the middle of the lake.
Xiao Changling's face was expressionless. On his fair and jade face, there were two handsome eyebrows, raised high and slanted into his temples. There was no burning anger or surging passion in his pair of clear and deep eyes. He was as calm as an icy lake, with no smile in his eyes; on the ring finger of his right hand holding the fishing rod, he wore a mutton-fat jade ring, which shone with emerald green brilliance, setting off Xiao Changling's self-possession. The majesty is noble and inviolable.
A cold wind blows, as sharp as a knife, blowing across Xiao Changling's resolute face, ruffling the hair on his cheeks; the hunting wind rises, driving the black cloak on Xiao Changling's body, revealing a corner of his white battle suit. Like a snow-white sea eagle, spreading a pair of plump wings.
At this moment, Xiao Changling, who was fishing by the lake with a fishing rod in his hand, had a heavy gaze, like a thousand-year-old well with no bottom. There was no emotion on his face, he just stared at the lake coldly, as if he wanted to use his own Those cold eyes sealed the entire lake in an instant, and coupled with a free and unrestrained expression, it even showed the feeling of the breeze and the moon.
At the same time, beside Xiao Changling, stood a general in black armor. He did not move at all, his face was as dark as a cold pool, with a look of power and seriousness; Long Xifeng's figure was upright, with his left hand pressing "Jingbei Sword" lowered his head slightly, said nothing, and stood motionless with the sword in hand, as if he had accumulated infinite power.
"Say it."
A familiar voice sounded faintly, cold, resolute, and indifferent, with a hint of intimidating sharpness, and a hint of coldness that showed no emotion or anger.
Xiao Changling did not look back, still holding the fishing rod with one hand, staring at the lake, quietly fishing alone, with a slightly selfless expression, and a faint sneer on the corner of his mouth, showing a charming demeanor.
After a while, Long Xifeng reacted and slowly released his left hand holding the knife.
"Your Majesty." Long Xifeng didn't hesitate and looked serious.
"Your Majesty, General Su Yi has sent a secret report from the north."
"explain."
From the beginning to the end, Xiao Changling did not turn around, and remained as before, his expression as cold as ice; such a cold expression contained the iron blood of the general, engraved with the heroic demeanor, and thus condensed into a line of ghostly charm.
"Back to your Majesty, the spy placed by the imperial court in the army has been found."
"oh?!"
Xiao Changling, who was dressed in white and Ling Feng, just paused slightly. He didn't seem to be very surprised by the news from Jinyang, as if everything was under his control. After a moment, Xiao Changling's face, The silence of the past was restored again, and a biting chill rose again in his eyes.
"Our Majesty is quite cautious. Until now, I have not been able to confirm how many people in the Jingbei Army are his informants."
Long Xifeng did not hesitate, but said in a deep voice, "It is not the main force of our army, but the supply camp responsible for taking care of the food and grass."
Xiao Changling was slightly startled when he heard the words "transportation camp", and the two elegant sword eyebrows on his forehead could not help but knit together.
"No wonder! Place the chess pieces in a dark place so that they are not noticeable and can monitor the movements of the entire army. You are so sophisticated. You are so sophisticated."
Suddenly, His Highness the King of Qin smiled coldly, and a look of self-deprecation appeared on his face involuntarily; Xiao Changling's eyes were calm and indifferent, surveying the lake in front of him, as if it were a vast ocean. "He has extended his hands into the lonely Jingbei Army!"
Although he was talking to himself, Ling Ran's murderous intent could be heard in it; it seemed that the next moment, Xiao Changling, the God of War of the Zhou Dynasty who commanded 400,000 cavalry, was going to tear the world into pieces.
"Your Majesty, should we find them out now..." Long Xifeng asked tentatively.
"Why are you so anxious?! The fish hasn't bitten the hook yet!" Xiao Changling said.
After he finished speaking, Xiao Changling smiled slightly. The fishing rod was still gently held in his hand, and his eyes swept across the lake, looking indifferent.
"I want to play cat and mouse with Gu! Just play with him properly. Tell Su Yi and Hu Kun to dig deeper."
"That's fine." Long Xifeng responded.
Then, Long Xifeng suddenly remembered something and continued.
"By the way, Your Majesty, when I first arrived, I noticed that there were many people from the Imperial City Department around the palace. I am afraid that they were specially sent by the royal family to monitor you. Look..."
Before Long Xifeng finished speaking, he had already discovered that there was no expression of anger on Xiao Changling's face, only the indifference like a thousand-year-old iceberg, and the cold light deep in his eyes became brighter and brighter. The eyes are like a sharp blade, piercing the heart and cutting off the heart.
"Kill them all." Xiao Changling ordered calmly, as if he was casually chatting about a family feud. With such extreme confidence and indifference, he determined the life and death of the dozens of Imperial City spies outside the door.
The surface of the lake is still calm, with snowflakes falling and the north wind blowing, slowly spreading into a line of snow-white brilliance, blooming with dazzling colors.
Suddenly, Xiao Changling frowned, and he felt that the fishing rod in his hand sank to the bottom of the lake. At that moment, he was overjoyed, with a faint smile on his lips, because Xiao Changling understood that the hard work was not in vain, and the fish Taken the bait.
So, Xiao Changling tightened his grip on the fishing rod and gently pulled it up. A large koi carp with plump golden scales was caught by him on the shore.
"Hey, there really are fish." Xiao Changling said with a leisurely smile.
…
Yongfu Lane is less than five hundred steps away from Prince Qin's Mansion. The space there is indeed a bit narrow, so narrow that it is a bit pitiful.
Under the cover of darkness, deep in the quiet alley, a large group of strange black shadows suddenly appeared at the entrance and end of the alley, blocking the alley tightly.
At the entrance of the alley, thirty Imperial City Secretariat "Chazi" in light clothes and armed with swords, all with gloomy faces, are scattered in every corner of Yongfu Lane. These Imperial City Secretaries, who are known as the "Emperor's eyes and ears", are like a dark night. The falcons inside used countless pairs of sharp eyes to stare at the prey they regarded as their targets; and the eagle dogs of the Imperial City Division received instructions from their superiors to monitor the targets from tonight onwards. Every move in the Prince Qin’s Mansion.
At this moment, murderous aura, sword light, and coldness had already enveloped the outside of Prince Qin's palace.
Little did they know, the breath of death had quietly arrived on the heads of these thirty Imperial City Commissioners; and what they didn't know was that tonight would be the last night in their lives. No one knows whether they will be able to see the sun tomorrow, because what they are about to face is the butcher's knife wielded by the King of Jingbei, and the sweep from the master of 400,000 cavalry.
"Da da da……"
At some point, at the T-junction closest to the alley, there was a thunderous sound of horse hooves. The sound of hooves was getting closer and closer, dense but not urgent, like drumsticks in the hands of a sergeant. One after another, they beat the head of the war drum.
In an instant, countless strands of white snow mist rose from all directions, wrapping the alley airtight; the sound of horse hooves like thunder shook the sky and the earth, resounding throughout the entire Zhuque Street. The rumble came from not far away, along the streets extending in all directions, towards Yongfu Lane, and gradually merged into a bone-deep cold current, which made people shudder...
With the sound of horse hooves approaching, a hundred heavily armored "Iron Buddha" roared in, blocking the narrow alley like an iron barrel, leaving not even a trace of space; leading this group The man holding the iron pagoda was General Yang Fang, who was wearing a black mask and armor. He held a spear in his hand and rode in front of the heavy cavalry group.
At this moment, the rolling iron cavalry on the street had long turned into black lines. They all bent their bows and nocked arrows, staring coldly at the ant-like Imperial City Division, ready to shoot the arrows in their hands at any time; in just a moment, In the meantime, thirty of the proud men of the Imperial City were nakedly exposed to the arrows of Iron Buddha Tu, and were suppressed by hundreds of cavalry in Yongfu Alley.
Just when the Imperial City was still confused in those dark nights, the situation outside the Prince of Qin's Palace had already undergone an astonishing reversal; in the dark iron pagoda brigade facing them, the arrows of countless bows and arrows were shining brightly. The cold feathered arrows, like countless bloody blades that kill people without blood, were densely packed and aimed at the hawks and dogs in the alley.
At this moment, a mighty command was heard from the Iron Buddha Tu.
"Fire the arrow——"
General Yang Fang's face was ashen, he was riding high on his horse, holding the spear in his hand, watching everything that happened in front of him with extreme indifference and numbness.
An arrow shot.
Therefore, when Xiao Changling was still playing the flute in his mansion, the Hundred Iron Pagoda at the entrance of Yongfu Lane immediately released all the arrows in his hands under the order of General Yang Fang.
"Boom, boom, boom..."
Hundreds of densely packed feather arrows, at this moment, broke free from the shackles of the bowstring, and were flying continuously at a jaw-dropping speed, covering the sky and the sun, shooting straight into the open space in front of them, like a piece of sky The net immediately covered the thirty flesh and blood bodies under the dense rain of arrows.
Arrows are like locusts.
After this soul-eating rain of arrows, everything ended and returned to the previous dead silence.
The white snowfield is still calm as usual, and the wind and snow in the night sky are still flying rapidly; the only difference is that on the silver-covered earth, thirty more bodies are dripping with blood out of thin air, and their bodies are covered with feathers. Arrows, dead bodies that can no longer die.
The gurgling blood was sprinkled on the snow, and a terrifying red color merged into the cold snow water. For a moment, red and white intersected, just like the white snow and red plums in the glazed world; and the one hundred blood-devouring iron pagodas, at this moment It had long since disappeared into the dark night, without a trace.
Arrow branches, blood color, snowy night.
A night filled with heavy snowfall was a good time for killing people.
…
Imperial Palace, Imperial Study Room.
Compared to the heavy snowfall outside, inside the Imperial Study Room, it feels like spring all year round, with a cozy warmth.
The aroma of ambergris, as light as light odor, slowly spreads through the incense burner, giving off an antique fragrance; at the same time, there are several braziers placed in the imperial study room, and the weak flames are flowing along the pots. The black charcoal was moving up and down, rising and falling, and a large pot of charcoal fire suddenly lit up. The dazzling firelight illuminated the entire imperial study, making people feel warm.
It was approaching dawn. Xiao Changyao put down his writing brush, rolled up the last roll of music, stretched his muscles slightly, and yawned. It was obvious that the hard-working Emperor had stayed up all night again and had just finished the government affairs at hand.
Lei Hao stood beside the emperor and said heartbrokenly when he saw that his majesty was so tired.
"Your Majesty, it's already the third watch. Do you want to announce which empress will serve?"
Xiao Changyao waved his hand.
"No need, I'm tired today. Go get a basin of cold water, I want to wipe my face."
"Yes." Lei Hao hunched over and whispered one word, then turned around and opened the door to the imperial study room and walked out quickly.
After Lei Hao walked out, Xiao Changyao, who was bored, leaned on the imperial couch with his eyes slightly closed. He gently rubbed his eyebrows with his hands. A night of diligent work left the emperor exhausted both physically and mentally. He looked very tired. very tired.
As the emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty, although Xiao Changyao had his own bedroom in the harem - "Xianyang Hall"; but Xiao Changyao was an energetic emperor. Especially after he ascended the throne, he was even more diligent in state affairs and stayed up all night. He was in the imperial study room reviewing memorials; therefore, Xiao Changyao rarely returned to Xianyang Palace and often slept in the imperial study room.
About half a stick of incense had passed, and the door of the royal study was pushed open again; Lei Hao led two small yellow doors and walked in with a basin in his hand. In the basin was cold water without any heat, plus a towel. .
The emperor took the towel from Lei Hao's hand, wiped his face casually with a cold towel that had been soaked in cold water, then threw the towel back into the basin with a "swish" sound, and stared at Lei Hao angrily.
"Why are you so slow!"
Hearing His Majesty's sullen tone, Lei Hao knelt down with a plop, his voice trembling.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. It was a tip-off just received from outside the palace, which caused the delay."
"What's the matter?"
"The spy of the Imperial City Secretary outside the Prince of Qin's Mansion..." At this point, Eunuch Lei subconsciously glanced at His Majesty the Emperor on the throne, then quickly lowered his head and said in a trembling voice, "There are thirty inspectors in total. , were killed by a hundred iron pagodas under King Qin’s command, all shot to death with random arrows.”
Upon hearing these words, Xiao Changyao's tiredness was instantly swept away; his whole body quickly sat up from the imperial couch, and his face became extremely ugly, as if it was deeply covered by a layer of frost.
He couldn't believe his ears. Thirty people of spies, his willful second brother, killed him when he was told, without even blinking an eye. Moreover, the way of killing was so iron-blooded and straightforward. , not only shot and killed, but also sent out the most elite Tiefutu to kill with random arrows.
This time, Xiao Changyao, as the king of a country, has truly seen the son-in-law temper of Xiao Changling. As expected, His Highness the King of Qin, who is in charge of the 400,000 Jingbei army, is ruthless and seldom talks, but his actions are always extraordinary.
However, Xiao Changyao did not have the slightest admiration for his second brother; a volcano seemed to be weighing on his heart. In Xiao Changyao's view, Xiao Changling was openly challenging his imperial power with a butcher's knife and blood.
"He is taking this opportunity to cause trouble!"
But soon, Xiao Changyao's frosty expression gradually softened, and he smiled calmly, with a hint of deep pride in the corner of his mouth. It was not so much pride, but rather that it was because he was an emperor. Strong self-confidence.
Xiao Changyao stretched out his hand and pointed.
"Tell Li Siyuan to continue sending more manpower. This world belongs to me. I want to see if he can kill all the billions of creatures in our Great Zhou!"
However, in the face of the Emperor Zhou's words, Lei Hao still stood still. He was ready to speak several times, but he hesitated.
"Do you have anything else?!" Xiao Changyao looked down at Lei Hao and asked.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"explain."
Lei Hao thought for a while and then said slowly, "Your Majesty, I have reported from the Western Region that the eldest princess will lead two thousand personal guards and will arrive in Beijing soon."
Xiao Changyao's eyes froze again, and the vortex became deeper and deeper.
"The storm is coming again..."
