"That's right... Ah Ma, today is my father's birthday. Why are you still wearing this white clothes? You are not afraid of offending everyone's good mood."
A stern male voice that reached its pinnacle was like the cold wind on a winter night, whistling, mercilessly cutting into the rough and indifferent faces of the border soldiers, drawing countless deep blood grooves; Crown Prince Xiao Changyao's pair of convergences Eyes with bone-chilling coldness, set off by two long dark eyebrows, look piercing and bright. They look straight at him. His joy and anger cannot be expressed in color. With a snap of his fingers, he can make the world overturn, and himself. He has the same noble blood and is a younger brother from the same mother. However, he saw that although there was a smile in the crown prince's eyes, there was still a coldness and oppression that was hard to hide. It condensed on the clear-featured profile of the King of Jingbei, and gradually Diffuse.
"What's wrong with Bai Yi?!"
Before Xiao Changyao could make a move, under the gaze of countless pairs of men and women, at this moment, Qin Wang Xiao Changling, dressed in white clothes and wearing a black wind cloak, placed his hands flat on the wine table, and a flash of light passed between his brows. The extremely proud look, the sharpness and determination of the moment, fleeting, he is still the unshakable and extraordinary commander, the current hero who led the men of Jingbei, marched three thousand miles north of the Great Wall, and whipped his whip across the desert to destroy the imperial court.
Facing the scorching gaze from His Highness the Crown Prince, Xiao Changling kept a calm expression, with a charming smile floating on the corner of his lips from beginning to end; he did not deliberately avoid the death gaze of the crown prince of a country, but instead raised his proud head high, calmly Welcome.
I saw a bright light suddenly blooming in Xiao Changling's eyes, transforming into two extremely sharp sword energy, piercing directly into the depths of Xiao Changyao's pupils. Its momentum was so strong, it was like Zhu Rong's blazing flames burning the sky, majestic The flames swept forward, as if they were going to burn up the vast northern prairie, covering every plant and tree in the world under the endless red lotus karmic fire, and burning it to ashes in an instant. If it were an ordinary mortal, , seeing such a terrifying look of ice and fire intertwined, I am afraid that my soul will immediately fly away.
In Xiao Changling's eyes, the prince has a tall and strong figure, deep eyes and thin lips, coupled with the prince's royal uniform with dark bottom and red patterns, which further highlights the noble identity of the prince of Zhou Dynasty; however, , Such appearance, such gorgeous clothes, reflected in the deepest part of Xiao Changling's deep eyes, did not show the elegant and majestic appearance of Tianhuang nobles, but an empty shell with only superficial appearance, which made him extremely contemptuous and disdainful. .
Moreover, Xiao Changling keenly discovered that the clothes he, the eldest brother of the emperor, wore today were quite unique. He wore a vermilion nine-chapter Panlong Yuan suit on the outside, lined with a Xuan Shang, and wore a pair of Baiyu on the left and right. Shuangbi, the whole person is solemn and solemn, sitting at the head of the emperor; especially the black clothes inside, the color is completely black, even as dark as the long night, so dark that it is impossible to look directly; it seems that Xiao Changyao's touch The dull black color was deliberately in contrast to Xiao Changling's proud white clothes.
Suddenly, Xiao Changling's eyes were like swords, and he spoke in a deep voice, with a cold and proud tone, as if he had the demeanor and demeanor of a peerless strong man.
"I have been wearing white clothes since I was a child. Your Highness the Crown Prince is not aware of this! The white clothes are clean, and the red clothes and purple ribbons are stained with the blood of the common people. I wear white clothes just to be honest. But Your Highness, the crown prince's crown has nine chapters. , I respect you so much, I think His Highness must feel very restricted when wearing it! In my opinion, although Your Highness’s clothes are bright and beautiful on the outside, why are they all black on the inside!"
Although the words were said euphemistically, the meaning was very clear. Isn't this a mockery of His Highness the Crown Prince's talk of love and sword in his smile?
In the whole world, perhaps the only person in the world who can mock the prince of a country with such a cold and calm tone, who is less than one person and more than ten thousand people, is the King of Qin of the Northern Zhou Dynasty who is opposite him in white clothes and has a cold and solemn face. He is commanding 120,000 soldiers from Jingbei, a man of great power, and a commander in white who dominates the world.
At the moment, Xiao Changyao's smile was light and peaceful, without any trace of annoyance; he raised his eyes slightly, only to see a sneer on Xiao Changling's lips, but there was no smile in his eyes, and a pair of sharp black pupils like daggers burst out with brilliant eyes. The cold light of the stars struck directly at his warm face.
"I'm just asking casually, why is King Qin so aggressive?!" Xiao Changyao's thin lips suddenly twitched a few times, and he said a sentence with a very light and heavy meaning, but a slightly murderous tone.
"Yeah?!"
Unexpectedly, Xiao Changling smiled brightly, stared at Xiao Changyao deeply, then gradually widened his gaze, looking at the Phoenix Mountain shrouded in mist, and after a while he uttered a sentence coldly.
"Are you so aggressive?! Oh, His Highness the Crown Prince's ability to kill people without blood is really an eye-opener for Chang Ling! No wonder you can become the Crown Prince, my brother... I'm ashamed of myself!"
When he came to the last four words "Ashamed", Xiao Changling deliberately raised his tone a lot, as if to let everyone hear clearly; the next moment, the noble King of Jingbei turned his head slightly. The two handsome sword-shaped eyebrows on his forehead were tilted towards the seat where the prince Xiao Changyao was sitting, and he raised them slightly, as if he was openly declaring war on the majestic prince, so proud and stubborn.
At this moment, Xiao Changyao, who had a warm smile just now, suddenly turned gloomy. His eyes were full of gloom, and he stared coldly at the man in white facing him, and his tone gradually turned harsh.
"Prince Qin, what do you mean by this?! You mean that I am deliberately trying to embarrass you!"
At this time, Xiao Changling couldn't help but smile. He half-turned around, leaned sideways on his seat, picked up the glass of wine in front of the case, and took a sip of it comfortably. After putting down the glass, Xiao Changling looked as usual, staring intently. Looking at His Highness the Crown Prince whose face changed suddenly not far away, his calm face revealed a cold and murderous intention that looked down upon the common people.
"I didn't say that. If His Highness insists on understanding it this way, then I have nothing to say. After all, if you want to incriminate yourself, why bother? You are the prince and you have power. You can lie down horizontally or vertically. , who dares to do anything to you! What I mean is that if someone else had said those words just now, he must have had bad intentions. If it had come from His Highness the Crown Prince, I would never believe it, but you would be worried about it. How could you, such a brilliant man, do such a dirty thing to drive a wedge between blood relatives of our Tian family?"
"So... I'm just a humble person." Xiao Changyao stared into Xiao Changling's eyes, his murderous aura became more and more fierce, and his eyes almost burst out of fire.
Although at this moment, the crown prince's eyes were already filled with scorching flames, the expression on Xiao Changling's face was still as silent and calm as a thousand-year cold pool; a thin ray of autumn sun fell behind him, reflecting there. A layer of distant and blurry halo appeared on the white dress that was blown up by the wind.
"Brother, you are also the crown prince of a country. Don't be so angry, as it can easily damage your liver."
Such a tone as cold as an icy lake actually came from the cold-natured King of Qin Xiao Changling. The clear voice was like a cold moon on a lonely night at the border, as if it carried the moonlight that was cold to the depths of the bone marrow, overlooking the cold and deserted place. There are countless Zhou soldiers who have been guarding the border for many years.
After a while, Xiao Changling slowly sat up straight, with a secret smile on his face. He then picked up a plate of golden honeydew melon, looked at his eldest brother lazily, and smiled lightly.
"Your Highness must have been thirsty after talking for so long. The courgettes newly sent as tribute from the Western Regions are very delicious. If you don't try them, I will be defeated."
As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Changling reached out and picked up a piece of honeydew melon and put it gently under his lips. There was a clear and audible sound of chewing in his mouth. His clear and calm cheeks were illuminated by the morning and autumn sunshine. Below, the sharp-edged facial contours are outlined, making the face even more handsome and beautiful.
For a moment, Xiao Changyao and Xiao Changling were locked in a stalemate. Their two eyes were staring at each other, as if two violent thunder and lightning were violently colliding towards each other with an unusually magnificent momentum and posture, and exploded. There was an unprecedented shock wave; in just a moment, the gazes of the Tian brothers were like two stray arrows, shooting straight out, the arrows touching each other, creating countless dazzling sparks.
Under the peaceful singing and dancing, the prince and the brothers of the King of Qin, in front of the emperor and the queen and all the princes and nobles, talked to each other like children bickering, talking tit for tat, and they were like two geniuses. The martial arts masters have condensed their lifelong skills and fought together to the death, not for anything else but to differentiate themselves.
In an instant, the emperor's birthday banquet in front of Chenglin Hall turned into a Shura field where the Xiao brothers competed head-on. The solemn Huang Zhong Dalu and the curling Qingge of the music hall were all filled with people passing by at this moment. snow color.
Everyone looked at each other.
A jaw-dropping picture slowly unfolded in front of everyone in the hall:
But it can be seen that when Prince Xiao Changling of Qin looked directly at him with extremely cold eyes, Prince Xiao Changyao's appearance did not change, and his pair of dark eyes had already bloomed with two dazzling beams of light in an instant; at the same time, Xiao Changling's face seemed to be covered with cold frost. He was still sitting in front of the case, his figure not moving at all, his eyes like ice needles and swords, tightly locked on the crown prince's hands. In the eyes, making it impossible to escape.
At this time, Xie Wanxin had already retreated behind the curtain and sat down quietly; however, when she saw the two beautiful young men outside the curtain who were at war with each other, a hint of uneasiness flashed across the girl's picturesque eyebrows, and her clear eyes , has already drifted unconsciously to the face, body, and hair of the man in white...
Suddenly, a deep, low cough stopped the undercurrent between the brothers.
The Xiao brothers looked sideways and saw Emperor Xuan of the Zhou Dynasty, Xiao Longxian, proudly sitting on the throne. He gently fiddled with a tourmaline ring between his fingers and said coldly.
"Have you two had enough quarrels? You have behaved like this since you were young. You quarrel whenever we meet. Not only do you quarrel, but you are also shameless!"
Xiao Changyao was about to get up, but was stopped early by his father's shout.
"Okay! Shut up, everyone! You two, one is the prince and the other is the King of Qin, you should set an example for the children of the royal family. What is an example?! You must be lenient, have the people in mind, and do not act willfully. Let's see again Look at what you two look like..." Emperor Xuan paused for a moment, then sternly reprimanded him, "Remember, if you say something false, there will be hundreds of troubles; if you say something false, you will be harmed for life!"
"My son, please remember this."
"My son, please remember this."
It has to be said that the sonorous dragon roar from the Emperor of Zhou really had an excellent effect. The two unruly princes immediately restrained their stubborn expressions and sharp speeches under this sonorous imperial voice. , bowed obediently and apologized.
You must know that when His Majesty the Emperor was still the Crown Prince, he was the most prestigious "No. 1 General in the Eastern Continent". He led his troops in conquests south and north, swept away heroes from all directions, and trampled the heroes of the Central Plains. It doesn't matter whether you are the crown prince or in charge. The commander-in-chief of the three armies, in the face of His Majesty the Emperor's absolute oppression like a towering mountain, his personal meager strength seems so insignificant. According to Xiao Longxian's own words: "When I personally led the Great Zhou cavalry to conquer the world, you guys, It hasn’t blossomed yet!”
Emperor Xuan glanced at his two sons lightly. Xiao Changyao's gloomy iron face gradually relaxed, and the cold eyes in his eyes slowly retracted his pupils; as for Xiao Changling, despite his two His gaze, still filled with a deep chill, had slowly moved away from Xiao Changyao's face, and his peripheral vision glanced around.
The atmosphere of the birthday banquet once again returned to the previous lively atmosphere, with people drinking wine and drinking wine.
"Second brother, what is your gift?"
At this moment, a childish voice sounded out of place; everyone looked back and saw Xiao Changche, the then nine-year-old King of Yuzhang, pulling Xiao Changling's white clothes from Shengxue Qishang In his clothes, a pair of beautiful pink and phoenix eyes are staring at the second brother next to him, who is seven years older than him, with a look full of innocence.
Following the childish voice of King Yuzhang, countless pairs of expectant eyes, as if receiving some magical instructions, all gathered on Xiao Changling's white clothes and lingered for a long time.
At this moment, the autumn sun in the sky was shining gently all over the outside of Chenglin Hall. Xiao Changling's tall figure remained motionless against the cool mountain wind. The faint autumn light pouring down is like auspiciousness falling from the world, reflecting the natural heroic spirit of the Lord of Jingbei.
Seeing that Xiao Changling remained silent, Xiao Changyao's gentle face revealed a strange smile, "Ah Ma, you must not have come empty-handed."
Unexpectedly, when faced with the challenge from the prince, Xiao Changling did not reply at all. Instead, he looked up to the sky and smiled, with a majestic and majestic expression. Although his solitary demeanor was reflected in his white clothes, it was full of The heroism and arrogance of the ruler of the North are frightening and heartbreaking. You can imagine how thrilling it must be when this young His Highness the King of Qin launches a fierce offensive like roaring flames on the battlefield; If the 120,000 Jingbei disciples under his command had half the military might of Qin King Xiao Changling, it would be enough to make the Jingbei army the most difficult vassal force in the world to shake.
The wild laughter dispersed like the wind, and on Xiao Changling's thin lips, there was a trace of self-confidence and pride that was better than broken jade, and every word was like a knife.
"Who said Gu came empty-handed?! Today is Father Qianqiu's Christmas, so how could I be empty-handed. The gift..., Gu, has already been prepared."
Snap twice.
Immediately, Xiao Changling gave a light high-five. Immediately, a rapid sound of combat boots and the sound of gold and iron colliding with armor plates came from dozens of feet away.
A flash of armor light was followed by a loud and powerful sound like a golden bell.
"Report——"
"Great victory in Monan! Great victory in Yanjing!"
After a while, Liu Heima, wearing a black helmet and armor, strode to the front of the emperor with vigorous steps, holding two pheasant tail military reports, and knelt on one knee.
"Your Majesty, our Jingbei army marched thousands of miles, marched straight in, and marched three thousand miles south of the desert. We captured Longcheng in one fell swoop, captured and killed more than 2,000 northern captives, captured them as sacrifices to the Heavenly Jinmen, and killed seven of their great and small servants. Thirteen people, Rouran Husi's Oruduo tribe, the main force has been completely killed and wounded, and the entire front has been defeated. At present, our army is still pursuing death and chasing north, approaching the nest of Beiyi, and is about to destroy the fishing sea."
"In the direction of Yanjing, Xue's army of 50,000 thieves were timid. On their way back to the army, they were surrounded and killed by our Jizhou Dao army from three directions. They were defeated and were completely destroyed outside Songting Pass. In this battle, our army, the King of Zhou Dynasty, , pursued all the way, won three battles and three victories, annihilated more than 49,000 enemies along the way, captured more than a thousand of his troops, intercepted a large amount of grain, and killed the king of the north, a great victory!"
"Our army... captured Dragon City?" His Majesty the Emperor's eyes widened and he asked solemnly.
The billowing smoke rose in the sky on the northern border, announcing to the world the majesty of the Northern Zhou army, which was spreading thousands of miles.
…
In the last years of Emperor Ai of Beiyu, the Central Plains was in chaos and there were many vassal towns. Taking advantage of the fierce fighting among the countries in the Eastern Continent and no time to look north, the royal court of Rouran, which had been entrenched in the Mobei grassland for a long time, gradually became stronger and completely escaped the control of the Beiyu court. , became the first overlord on the northern grasslands, with millions of strings under his control, and powerful soldiers and horses. During this period, the iron cavalry of the Rouran people repeatedly invaded and harassed the territory of Chongqing. Wherever their butcher knives were directed, the city palaces and palaces were burned to the ground, and their wealthy and silk children were also burned. Everything was plundered, stones were cut, and thousands of households were in depression.
Looking at the national wars in ancient and modern times, with only 18,000 cavalry and light troops, they raided deep into the enemy's territory. Relying on their own devastating wind and thunder offensive, they unexpectedly uprooted the "Monan Dragon City", which the Rouran people regarded as a sacred place. , expanded the territory of the Great Zhou Empire to the vast area south of the desert, thus overturning the cavalry advantage that the Rouran barbarians had always been proud of. This was undoubtedly the most glorious military achievement created by the Northern Expedition to the Grasslands since the founding of the Great Zhou; Such a monumental work cannot be accomplished by anyone but a talented person. Except for the King of Qin, who looked down upon all the heroes, who else could possess such shocking spirit and courage?
The sky is clear, the clouds are slightly floating, and a bright skylight casts a small arc, reflecting Xiao Changling's calm and determined demeanor, which is so handsome that people are fascinated; when a glass of fragrant and pure chrysanthemum wine is held in Xiao Changling's hand, When Chang Ling was in front of him, he gently raised his glass to his lips. He didn't even drink, he just took a slight sip.
Putting down the wine glass, Xiao Changling's eyes showed a hint of joy, but the determination condensed between his eyebrows never faded away. He held a thin ice blade in his hand and cut the orange himself. His steady movements were so skillful, just like He is as familiar as wielding a knife to kill people on the battlefield. He peels and removes the flesh cleanly and puts the pulp on the plate with his own hands.
Suddenly, Xiao Changling glanced at the hard edges on his father's square face, with the same expression as before, and smiled lightly.
"Father, I wonder if father is satisfied with this gift from my son?"
With illustrious military exploits as a birthday gift, and with thousands of miles of territory to drink wine, I have to admit that the birthday gift of His Highness the King of Qin is indeed unique. Compared with Jingbei Jian'er's thousands-mile expedition to conquer Dragon City and destroy Rouran's main force outside Songting Pass. All other gold, jade, calligraphy, paintings, and rare treasures instantly eclipsed and became worthless in front of this glorious military achievement.
His Majesty the Emperor opened the battle report and browsed through it briefly. The more he read, the smile on the Emperor's face became stronger and stronger. When he saw the climax, Emperor Xuan of the Zhou Dynasty Xiao Longxian's two thick black mustaches could not help but It started to tremble, unable to conceal the joy in my heart.
"Okay! Okay! With only 18,000 cavalry, you dare to go deep into the desert for 3,000 miles, and capture the Dragon City with the force of thunder. It's really an iron cavalry for thousands of miles, an iron cavalry for thousands of miles!"
After reading the battle report in his hand, Emperor Xuan was still unfinished and couldn't help but take a few more glances; then, the emperor's eyes were fixed on Xiao Changling's face and he laughed heartily.
"Erlang, it must be your boy's handiwork. It really belongs to you! Well... this is the best birthday gift I have received today. Erlang, you are thoughtful."
Xiao Changling smiled and said nothing, his brows and eyes were clear and plain, showing a demeanor of being unfazed by honor and disgrace.
Immediately afterwards, Xiao Longxian raised his thick eyebrows slightly, held up the two reports of victory that symbolized the Jingbei army's invincibility, and displayed them in front of everyone. His eyes suddenly flashed brightly, and he spoke boldly.
"Who said that our Central Plains cavalry can't attack long distances and enter the grassland? Take a good look, my King Qin and my soldiers in Jingbei have done it!"
As soon as he finished speaking, His Majesty the Emperor stared at the victory report for a while, then raised his head and asked.
"Who led the troops to capture Dragon City?"
"Back to my father, Xue Lancheng, the commander of the right battalion of Tiefu Tu, and his eight thousand Tiefu Tu, plus ten thousand black cavalry from the Beida camp, totaling eighteen thousand fine cavalry." Xiao Changling looked calm and replied calmly. .
Emperor Xuan nodded slowly.
"Sure enough, they are a powerful force of tiger generals. They are extraordinary! According to my will, I will reward the meritorious soldiers."
"My son, I would like to thank my father for your kindness." Xiao Changling smiled lightly. His fair face, blown by the cool autumn wind, looked as cold as the snow on the Tianshan Mountains, which had not changed over the years.
The emperor said "hmm" and stared at the white clothes underneath, with a strange light flashing in his eyes.
"Erlang, you managed it well this time and commanded it well. Tell me, what reward do you want?"
"Father, this great victory in Monan and Yanjing is all due to the might of the Lord Long. I, the man from Jingbei, have to fight to the death to plow the court and clear the holes. The great cause of the tripod. How dare I, my son, to covet the merits of heaven and think of it as my own strength?! "
Xiao Changling's tone was slow and powerful, masculine and pure. His chiseled jaw slowly raised, and a pure smile appeared on the corner of his lips.
Unexpectedly, Emperor Zhou waved his hand and looked away from the wine table.
"Hey, don't confuse the concepts. Receiving rewards for meritorious service and being granted the title of wife and son-in-law has always been my rule in the Great Zhou Dynasty. Whether Xiao Changling wants this reward or not is not your decision alone, but mine. After all, as long as you have made contributions to the country, I will give you a good reward." The emperor thought for a moment, "Well, you are now the commander-in-chief of Jingbei, with 120,000 troops and horses in hand. From now on, Yanjing How about all the 83,000 men and horses stationed in the Great Camp, Jibei Frontier Cavalry, and the six towns stationed under the Jingbei banner, hoisting the Jingbei flag, and being unified under your control? How about that?"
The three troops of the Yanjing Camp, the Northern Hebei Frontier Cavalry and the Six-Town Defense Army were merged into the Jingbei Army. For a time, the overall strength of the Jingbei Army was reduced from the original 120,000 cavalry of the Beida Camp and Dongda Camp. The surge to more than 200,000 troops was undoubtedly an unexpected surprise for Xiao Changling and the Jingbei soldiers; since then, the rise of Jingbei has become an unstoppable torrent.
"My son, I would like to express my sincere thanks for the grace." Xiao Changling nodded sideways, his face calm and unruffled.
Then, His Majesty the Emperor raised the golden cup again and looked at the people in the audience with a happy face.
"All my dear friends, for the great victory over Monan, drink this cup with me——"
"Your Majesty may live forever!"
"The King of Qin is brave and brave!"
Suddenly, the Tianchang Qianqiu Banquet was filled with thunderous cheers and drums and music playing in unison.
As thousands of people chanted, Xiao Changling gently closed his eyes and remained silent for a long time, as if a severe winter had settled in his heart, lingering; the young prince in white clothes looked up at the sky attentively, no longer opening his lips, and let it go. The silence of autumn envelopes the whole body, just to silently reminisce about the years that have passed by in the past, and the fetters of time are faintly brushed away, adding to the frost on the ground.
