Zhou Lingzhi temporarily took care of the city on behalf of his uncle. He wanted to ensure that the city was under control before his uncle came back.
When he heard that his uncle was back, Zhou Lingzhi hurriedly went to greet him. On the way, he met the third prince Arilang. He thought about letting the new king go first.
Arilang's steps were stiff but hurried.
When he arrived in front of Huiyi's largest main hall, he heard the voice of Lord Jiedushi.
Arilang opened the door without thinking and looked up to find a woman sitting on the throne.
The woman sat on a luxurious gemstone throne. Her appearance was as bright as the morning glow, her snowy skin was whiter than cow's milk, her hair was three thousand heavy, and her lips were as red as cherry blossoms. She looked like a fairy.
Master Jieduzhi sat on her lower seat.
Arilang looked at the woman's appearance and lost his mind for a moment. He thought of the rumors about her. The first was her beauty, and the second was the love and affection that Lord Jiedushi had for her.
Xiao Luolan looked at the third prince Huiyi. Before he could say anything, he saw Arilang kneeling down and then kowtowed heavily.
Xiao Luolan was startled.
Zhou Xu patted his wife's hand, asked her to sit down, and looked at the new king with a smile.
"Third Prince, why do you give me such a gift as soon as we meet?"
Arilang raised his head, remembering the speculations that had tortured him these days, and asked tremblingly.
"Master Jiedushi, do you have to do this?"
Zhou Xu said lazily: "I wonder what the third prince is talking about?"
"Five days ago, the Ghost Slaughter Cavalry under your command roared past with a group of black armor cavalry."
"My wife told me yesterday that her father Qimi Khan had seen your army collecting cattle, sheep, horses and other livestock from other tribes on the grassland, reaching hundreds of thousands."
"Deep winter is approaching. What's the difference between doing this and massacring them?"
"At least tens of thousands of people will starve and freeze to death in the winter because of your decision." Arilang's lips trembled and his eyes were red. Just as he once sympathized with the plain girl who was recruited by his father, now he also feels sorry for the festival. Lord Duzhao felt cruel about his treatment of the defeated tribes. Four heads of the khans of the six tribes were chopped off, one was not human, and the other was imprisoned. The Turkic cavalry were completely wiped out, and Suzila Kun and Tu Mi'er is also in prison.
The Huiyi Alliance was defeated in one fell swoop, and nearly 30,000 people lost their lives in this battle. Isn't this enough? How many more lives will be added?
Xiao Luolan opened her eyes slightly, finally understanding what Sect Master Zhou said about making Youzhou full.
After Zhou Xu finished listening, he touched his stubble and asked with a smile: "So what?"
Xiao Luolan looked at Sect Master Zhou and found that his eyes were cold and indifferent, like a war machine.
"I heard that the mistress of Youzhou has always been kind." Arilang suddenly looked at the woman sitting on the throne, tears streaming down his face, and he couldn't stop crying: "I know that the defeated side in the war has no right to say anything, and I also know that it is the father who Wang, he broke the promise first, and the Huiyi Alliance is at fault, but, but this is too cruel."
Arilang fell to the ground and cried bitterly: "Can you give them a chance to survive? There are too many people who are going to die this time, and many of them are innocent." He was so conflicted in pain that he finally entrusted his hope to Su On the body of the mistress of Youzhou whom I have never met.
Xiao Luolan pursed her lips tightly and suddenly felt out of breath.
Zhou Xu suppressed his smile, walked to the audience, raised his foot and kicked Arilang until he was five or six meters away, with a fierce look on his face.
"Who do you think you are? You dare to threaten her."
Chapter 96 (revision)
Xiao Luolan looked at the sporadic blood stains in the audience. After Zhou Zongzhu kicked the third prince, the third prince immediately vomited blood. The pain made him curl up into a shrimp.
Clan Leader Zhou stretched out his hand, pinched the third prince's neck, and lifted him up. In front of Clan Master Zhou's tall and powerful figure, the third prince was weak and unable to resist. His face was red and his expression was painful, but his eyes were still looking at him. He was looking at her, waving his hands, and most of his face was covered in blood.
Zhou Xu's face was extremely cold at this moment, colder than the snow on the glacier that never melted all year round. He exerted slight pressure on his fingers, almost unable to suppress the murderous intent pouring out of his heart.
Could it be that this person thought he wouldn't kill him? Zhou Xu's smile was cold.
The third prince's face turned as red as pig liver, and he pulled Jiedushi's hand like a pair of iron pincers with both hands. His vision gradually blurred. Just when he thought he was going to die, Master Jieduzhi threw him away.
Arilang fell heavily on the white stone and jade bricks, gasping for breath. Xiao Luolan put his hand on the arm of the Zhou clan leader and did not look at the third prince who was coughing violently.
Zhou Xu knew what the lady meant and looked at the third prince coldly: "Come, please go back to King Yi and have a good rest."
The Xuanjia Camp guards outside the door quickly took him away, leaving only a long blood trail.
There was silence in the hall.
The lotus platform built by the previous old king was very luxurious. There were square lotus ponds on the left and right sides of the hall. In the middle was a jade staircase leading to the throne. The entire palace wall was built into a hollow sandwich wall, with several holes dug under the wall. The fire path and the charcoal mouth are located outside the palace, so that the heat of the Swiss charcoal fire can spread along the center of the wall to the entire palace, making the Lotus Palace as warm as spring in the cold winter.
The clear waves in the lotus pond are shallow, and pink lotus flowers are in full bloom.
The white jade floor tiles clearly reflect the Buddha lotus pattern on the top of the Lotus Palace. The patterns are all decorated with gold foil and gemstones. Even the faucet mouth of the lotus pond that spits water is made of pure gold, and water is gurgling.
In front of the Lotus Terrace is a huge dance band.
But now, those lustful sounds of silk and bamboo singing and dancing have disappeared.
"Madam doesn't need to take those bastard words that the third prince said to heart." Zhou Xu was the first to break the silence. He held his wife's hand and returned to his original position.
The pure gold gemstone throne has been washed and washed, and it is also covered with a brand new white cushion, which is spread to the bottom of the steps like snow.
As the door of the Lotus Palace was closed.
Zhou Xu hugged his wife and sat on the throne. The Youzhou sword from his waist had been taken off and placed sideways beside the throne. The peace charm on the handle hung down, and the yellow thread was like the afterglow of the sunset.
"What's wrong?" Zhou Xu kissed the silent wife and thought about gathering some musicians and dancers to make her happy in the evening. The lady was gentle and kind. Zhou Xu didn't want her to know some things on the battlefield, but the third prince was hateful. I'm being smart for a while.
War is war, and the loser will either be slaughtered or spend a lot of money to seek peace, and peace will also come at a certain price.
There was still sarcasm in his heart towards the third prince. Counting back, thirty years ago, when he was fifteen years old, he saw what Da Chu gave them every year in order to appease the jackals on the grassland whose appetites were getting bigger and bigger. A lot of money and cloth, is this useful? It was of no use at all, and all they got in exchange was their intensified bullying and aggression.
From the age of fifteen, Zhou Xu vowed to drive back these steppe wolves led by Turks one day. He was born and raised in Youzhou. He joined the army at the age of fifteen and spent half his life in the army. This time, Zhou Xu made up his mind. Determined to smash the way out of these greedy wolves.
Maybe as the third prince said, many innocent people would die, but Zhou Xu didn't care, he would never focus on those people.
If the madam persuades him, then he can only lie to the madam.
Zhou Xu had a smile on his face.
Xiao Luolan looked at him, and Sect Master Zhou looked at her with a smile, not seeing the fierceness, coldness and ruthlessness just now.
Xiao Luolan clenched her hands tightly, her fingertips turned white. She felt like she could not breathe. It was as if there was a huge mountain pressing down on her heart. It was so heavy that it was difficult for her to breathe. She was a little confused and a little scared. The third prince was worried about What she said made her realize that she couldn't bear it at all.
Is this kind of behavior cruel by Sect Master Zhou?
Xiao Luolan found that he could not look at this problem calmly at all. It was of course cruel to those grassland tribes. It was extremely cold in the depths of winter. Without cattle, sheep, horses and livestock, how could they survive the winter? People in the grassland tribes paid more attention to the law of the jungle. Acting with savage animality, the rules and customs are different from those in the Central Plains. When it is cold and there is not enough food, they will abandon the old, weak, sick and disabled, regardless of gender, the weak will die first, women, children, the elderly, and finally Young and strong, thousands of people died due to cold and hunger. This was a very terrifying thing in Xiao Luolan's previous knowledge, but now these things are done by their side.
Did Sect Leader Zhou do anything wrong?
Most of the sixteen counties in Youzhou are important frontier towns and cities. They form a line of defense to keep out the grassland tribes who often invade the Central Plains.
Is it wrong for soldiers guarding the border to want to eat meat? Is it wrong for residents of Youzhou Territory to want to have a good year?
correct.
Xiao Luolan couldn't plead for mercy. She didn't have the qualifications or the position to do so, but she also couldn't remain indifferent. Her past knowledge tortured her and tore her heart into pieces.
"I'm fine." Xiao Luolan murmured with tears on her face, "I just can't pass my test."
Zhou Xu was startled for a moment. He originally thought that his wife would persuade him, or intercede for some innocent people. Although he didn't know which of those prairie jackals were innocent, maybe some who had not grown up and had not yet followed. A boy or a child whose father and brother moved south? They are still some tribeswomen who have never left the tribe, or they are old and dying people.
Zhou Xu didn't care, but he knew that Madam did.
In Madam's eyes, it seems that no matter how humble a life is, she can get her attention, including commoners, Hu Ji, slaves, retainers, Kunlun slaves, and deformities.
Her eyes hide all things, and she has a compassionate heart hidden under gentleness. She is more compassionate than the monk in the team who knocks fish and chants sutras all day long.
She cares about the weak and wants to help them as much as possible.
Such a lady with a bodhisattva heart did not plead with him.
She just had tears all over her face, as if she was blaming herself, and only herself.
Zhou Xu didn't understand what was so strange about this. This plan was ordered by him and executed by Jin Ben, Tuoba and Xuanjiaying. It had nothing to do with Madam.
Zhou Xu looked at his wife, but felt a strange feeling in his heart.
She is really like the immortal in the storybook, crying sadly because she has no ability to help sentient beings. Kindness was originally her nature, but now it has become a knife to torture her.
But the person holding the knife refused to let her go.
Zhou Xu stroked his wife's face, licked the tips of his teeth, and felt strangely excited.
The fairy-like lady is crying now.
She was so sad, her eyelashes were wet, and she was hiding her little-known inner world. Zhou Xu always knew that his wife's world was different from his.
But she was in his world now.
Like a crane with injured wings that fell into the mud and couldn't fly.
"Madam, please stop crying." Zhou Xu found that his voice was hoarse.
Xiao Luolan turned her head and pushed back the tears in her eyes, but the tears still fell.
Zhou Xu looked at the lady's face and kissed her gently, greedily not sparing any part of her face, the moist eyelashes, the thin trembling eyelids, the sad tears, the reddish tip of the nose and red lips, and the snow-white neck. .
Xiao Luolan pushed him uncomfortably. She just wanted to escape from here now.
Zhou Xu held her hand loosely, letting the lady's body be dyed with his own scent, and pulled the immortal down from the lofty fairy palace to see that in this devastated world, he still looked like a ghost.
The Lotus Palace is as warm as spring.
Zhou Xu knelt in front of the throne and bowed his head.
"Don't be like this." Xiao Luolan's hands were pressed on both sides of the throne by Clan Master Zhou's. There were cold and magnificent gems under her palms, and she couldn't move an inch.
The man in front of her knelt in front of her, and Xiao Luolan felt uncomfortable. She didn't like men kneeling on her. This kind of low-key but implicitly strong and non-rejecting gesture made her feel forced.
Zhou Xu looked up at his wife.
Xiao Luolan thought that Master Zhou was going to let her go, but she found that Master Zhou was kneeling and kissed her.
"Zhou...Zhou Lang, please let me go first." There were tears on Xiao Luolan's eyelashes, and her voice could not stop trembling slightly.
Zhou Xu turned a deaf ear.
Xiao Luolan bit her lip tightly, and finally let out a cry of "Sect Master Zhou."
Zhou Xu stopped and then stood up slowly. Xiao Luolan saw twisted love in his eyes.
She had never been able to understand him, and now Xiao Luolan found that she still couldn't understand him.
"Madam." Zhou Xu hugged the madam and kissed the tip of her ear gently: "Madam."
